


Thalassa

by Dramance



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Dib has thalassophobia, Dib-centric (Invader Zim), M/M, Membrane is kinda a good parent, MerMay, Older Dib (Invader Zim), Title is probably gonna change, ZaDr, but he’s still blinded by science, ill add tags as i go, its not a crossover tho, just a mermaid au, let me know if I missed something, lots of drowning scenarios, mermaid Dib Membrane, mermaid au, siren Zim, so I decided to contribute, thats just how I write Membrane sorry, there needs to be more merDib, this is basically very similar, yall remember H2O?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24317053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dramance/pseuds/Dramance
Summary: Dib Membrane lives in fear of the ocean, but his father being a highly respected Marine Biologist means he’s forced to be around it more than he would like. And a chance meeting with a siren has Dib closer to the ocean than he ever thought possible. Now, he must learn to cope with his strange, new abilities with the help of an unlikely friend.
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 66
Kudos: 170





	1. Metamorphosis

**Author's Note:**

> There needs to be more merDib content out there, so I decided to write it myself! I don’t think I’ll finish it before May ends, but hey, it’s summer and I know I’ll still have the Mermaid fever XD I just hope I’m doing merDib justice the way he deserves (don’t worry, Zim is a mermaid too lol)
> 
> I hope y’all enjoy this first chapter and stick around for what’s to unfold! There’s also a few drowning scenarios in this first chapter, so be careful if that makes you uncomfortable.
> 
> Side note: I published this on my phone, so hopefully it cleans up nice. I’ll add my social media and such tomorrow when I’m on my laptop.

Dib hated waiting by the docks, especially at high tide. Watching the water slowly rise up the dock poles made him feel like he was already drowning, even though he knew the water would only rise about a couple feet, if not a foot; it would never get the chance to touch him. He knew this. That still didn’t stop him from standing the farthest away from water’s edge without being off the docks—his dad made it clear that Dib needed to wait on the docks for him to return. The water would still be in his line of sight, and it was inevitable that his gaze would linger on the ocean, making his stomach churn just as much as the choppy waves.

He would give anything to convince his dad to let him go straight home after school.

Today was incredibly windy, which made the ocean bubble and churn more than usual; any boat that went out there was guaranteed to make its passengers seasick. Luckily, his father didn’t make Dib go out on the boat when he did his weekly biocollection down in the reefs off Mako Island, but it did mean that he’d have to wait longer for them to return to shore with his work.

The rushing waves droned on like white noise to Dib as he took a seat on the dock steps. He stuffed his headphones in his ears and turned his music up all the way to drown out the sound, but he still had to cover his ears in order to completely block out the noise. Waiting by the docks for his dad and Gaz to return should have at least made him feel less on edge about being on the docks—after all, exposure therapy has been proven to be beneficial for dealing with phobias—but he still felt like he was going to scream and run should a wave crash into the docks wrong. His leg bounced as he did his breathing exercises and closed his eyes, focusing on the music blasting in his ears to take him elsewhere, anywhere, but here by the docks.

He managed to get his breathing and pulse down to a reasonable level, but he still not dared to open his eyes and uncover his ears should the sight and sound of the ocean set him off again. He was ok, he could get through this. His dad’s boat would be back soon and then they could go home and have meatloaf prepared by Foodio and—

Dib yelped as he was shoved forward, his hands and knees scrapping on the asphalt as his headphones were yanked from his ears. “Hey, Stinkbrain!”

Dib’s pulse shot through the roof once again.

He scrambled to his feet and backed away as his eyes met the beady slits of Torque Smackey and his two little goons. The bully towered over Dib’s lanky frame, even though he nearly matched Torque’s height if he were to stand up straight to him. Dib couldn’t stop his legs from trembling until they were already threatening to give out from underneath him. Torque and his “friends” have been pushing him down the hallways of his school for years, but they recently have gotten relentless with how many times they picked on him during the day. That is to say, this wasn’t his first encounter with them today.

“Come on, Torque. Please not now. We already did this today.” He had the bruises and scrapes to prove it, too.

Torque threw his head back and laughed, his annoying little followers following suit. Dibs heart sank. He knew it was too much to hope for—after all, they all bothered to find him—but he still held his breath.

“And leave without properly hanging out? I think that’d be rude, dontcha think?”

Dib gulped.

He was glued to his spot on the concrete, unable to even attempt moving as Torque’s goons circled his sides. Torque himself gave a crooked smile, with even more crooked teeth. “Heard your dad goes out and collects fish for a living. Whatcha doing out here instead of helping him?”

Dib’s breathing quickened.

“Oh, that’s right. Cause you’re afraid of a little water!” They all laughed while Dib tried his best to hide his fear of their “punchline,” in which Torque delivered the reason for his beating before the actual beating.

“Stop it...” Dib whispered.

They didn't.

“You’re such a baby, Dib. I learned to swim when I was two. You know, since I’m a nice person, I think I might end up teaching you how to swim. How’s that sound?”

Dib was running before Torque could even finish his sentence.

He pumped his legs faster than he even knew he could as he raced down the docks away from them. Away from what they threatened to do. He could take their insults, take their punches, take their judgment, but he couldn’t take water. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t!

“Get back here, Stinkbrain!”

Dib yelped as a rock flew by his head. He took a hard right and bolted across the parking lot. More rocks clattered against the asphalt as he ran, so he ended up zigzagging to avoid them. His lungs heaved as he ducked behind cars, the rocks setting off a few of their alarms. He could still hear Torque screaming at him to stop, but Dib refused.

Soon, he exited the parking lot and was darting across a nearby park that bordered the ocean, and across the park was his house. He just needed to outrun them and make it to there. He could do it. He could do it!

A rock hit Dib in the hip.

He shrieked as he stumbled, but that was all it took. Torque and his lackeys were on him in seconds, and before he knew it, he was kicking and screaming as they dragged him by the arms towards the water’s edge.

He couldn’t see it, but he could hear it. It was already as loud as the blood pounding in his ears, but the noise slithered into his head like a rattlesnake warning an intruder of it venturing too close. 

“Torque, stop! Please!” Dib begged, not caring that the absolute terror dripping in his voice was only fueling the bully.

The water hissed, sloshing against the edge of the park shoreline. Another warning.

Torque gripped him by the arm and shoved him to the water's edge. “Time for a swimming lesson!”

Dib wanted to scream, but all that escaped his mouth was a quiet gasp as he was shoved into the water.

He got too close.

The water struck as his back hit the surface.

Every part of Dib screamed as he was swallowed by the waves. He kicked and thrashed, trying to go up, but it only pushed him further down. The water coiled around him, squeezed him, pulled him down with no hope of escape.

His heart rushed in his ears so loud that it hurt. His chest burned from not getting a full breath before going under. His glasses slipped off his nose and sank out of reach, but he was already blind. Blinded by fear. The endless blue that surrounded him turned dark, cold. His skin tingled as his muscles locked.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breath. He couldn’t see.

The water infected him with its venom and had its hold over him, dragging him down to a silent, terrifying death.

And he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Dib wasn’t sure when he closed his eyes, but he could feel them attempting to flutter as the water rushed around him. He wasn’t going down anymore, he was moving through the water, and quickly, too. But he wasn’t the one moving, something was moving him.

That should’ve scared him just as much as being submerged, but Dib had no energy to move in protest. The lack of oxygen and absolute terror that gripped him left him limp, and soon he closed his eyes and blacked out.

He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but the next thing he knew, he was coughing violently as water was being forced from his lungs. The sand was course beneath his palms and his clothes stuck to his skin. Once he was done emptying his lungs, shivers wracked his body from the chill of the ocean and from the near death experience. He curled in on himself and cried silently, hiccuping and sniffling.

Wait, he was on the beach?

Slowly, Dib sat up and looked around. Indeed, he was on the beach, sand coating his wet skin and clothes. He was in a secluded area enclosed by large rocks, both on and off shore, and he couldn’t see any people around. He didn’t recognize the area where he was, but he hoped it wasn’t too far from the docks so he could get back before his dad returned and he got in trouble.

He blinked. He could  _ see _ . His glasses were on his face. But...hadn’t those fallen off?

And how did he get here?

He dared to look out at the ocean, his fingers digging into the sand to ground him. A thick trail was next to him and traveled all the way down to the ocean, like something had dragged itself to and from the water. He shuddered as he looked out at the water, but nothing was out there. Of course, he didn’t look long enough to make sure.

He shakily got to his feet. The sun was already starting to sink low on the horizon, which meant his dad was either on his way back to the docks or was already there. He heaved a sigh. Hopefully, his dad would take one look at him and realize that his absence wasn’t his fault.

Dib trudged up the sand and made it to the nearby sidewalk. Now that he was a distance away, he dared look back at the water, and he caught a flash of something green and pink vanishing beneath the waves. 

He did a double take. A green and pink creature? What kind of thing—

His phone rang, and Dib cringed as he noticed his father’s caller ID. “Hello?”

“Son, where are you? I told you to wait by the docks?”

“I...sorry...I’ll be there soon.”

* * *

When Dib finally arrived back at the docks—he was much farther from the docks than he realized—his father was surprised to find him shivering and crusty. Dib was afraid to tell him what happened when he asked, but after some coaxing, he recounted the story and did his best not to cry again. He expected his father to say something about the whole ordeal once he finished, but he didn’t say anything. In fact, he didn’t say anything to anyone else as he finished grabbing his supplies from his boat to head for home; he didn’t even say goodbye to his researchers, just acknowledged them with a wave.

His father’s silence made Dib feel even worse.

When they got home, he instructed him to go shower so he wouldn’t get sick and then come down for dinner when he was done. While he was relieved to finally get cleaned up, he dreaded what awaited him when he went downstairs again.

Dib stepped out of the shower and shook his hair to rid it of water. He quickly dried off and shuffled into some pajamas before going downstairs to have dinner with Gaz and his dad.

He sat down quietly and picked at the food Foodio placed in front of him. Gaz was next to him, clicking away on her Gameslave while their dad was writing notes in a journal as his food got cold.

Ten minutes of fork scraping, button clicking, and pen writing ticked by before the silence was broken.

“Do I have to start bringing you on the boat, son?”

Dib’s fork clattered against his plate. “Nonono! You don’t need to do that!”

The professor sighed, not looking up from his notes. “I know your stance on the ocean, and I’m well aware that going on a boat makes you incredibly uncomfortable. But having you nearly drown while I’m not around is simply not an option. At least on the boat, you can sit in the office.”

Dib gripped his chair. “B-But why can’t I just go home? It’ll be fine. I can work on my homework and—”

“And risk this happening again? If anything, the chances of them jumping you on your way home have skyrocketed. No, it’s safer if you’re with me.” 

Membrane was angrier about this whole incident than Dib previously thought. He wasn’t yelling, more just scolding, but it wasn’t directed at him. He could hear the strain in the professor's voice, see the furrowing of his eyebrows atop his goggles. It was...tense. His father usually never got angry, he was normally a very cheery person who often expressed disappointment rather than anger—Dib would know because Membrane was disappointed when he said he wanted to study the paranormal. Seeing him genuinely angry about this whole situation that he wanted Dib by his side should’ve made him happy; instead, he dreaded it.

Membrane placed his pen down and met Dib’s eyes. “You will join us for next Thursday’s biocollection. Am I clear?”

Dib shrank under his father’s gaze and nodded his head, ignoring the way his stomach churned with anxiety.

Silence fell over the table again as the professor resumed his notes.

Dib stared down at his lap, no longer hungry. He glanced up at Gaz from the corner of his eyes, but she was still absorbed in her game. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was peeking over at him through one squinted eye, he would’ve assumed she ignored the entire conversation. Dib looked away.

His mind ended up wandering back to when he woke up on the beach, and he recalled the green and pink creature. It was too big to be a fish, too oddly colored to be a dolphin, and too scaly to be an eel. Dib never really studied the ocean and its creatures, for obvious reasons, but he figured he’d recall a creature that unique if push came to shove—no pun intended.

“Hey, dad? Have you ever heard of...a green and pink fish? About the size of a dolphin that hangs out near the shore?”

Membrane’s note writing paused briefly as he made fleeting eye contact once again. “No, son. No such creature exists in the ocean.”

* * *

Professor Membrane is a highly acclaimed marine biologist who often travels the world to study its marine life. Before Dib and Gaz were born, he traveled and lived on his boat the  _ S.S Tardigrade _ —the boat was named after the creature of the same name because of its ability to survive harsh living conditions—that he used to collect and study marine life. It was an amazing piece of technology that he invented himself with his wife. It could transform into a submarine, sailboat, and undersea lab with simple button commands, and it could spend weeks out on the water before coming back to shore. Shortly after Dib and Gaz were born, however, Membrane permanently quit traveling when his wife died, and he decided to focus his studies on an island off the shores of his hometown: Mako Island.

Dib could still remember his dad’s answer to his question when he asked why his dad was so interested in the island: “It’s full of mysteries that will change the world.”

Of course, Dib didn’t understand what that meant, and he still hadn’t a clue now. All he knew was that his dad was obsessed with that island and that it wouldn’t stop anytime soon.

That obsession was more important than acknowledging Dib’s phobia of the ocean, apparently.

Dib sat stiff as a board in his father’s office on his boat. He could feel every time the boat hit a choppy section of water as well as every slight turn it made. His heart was racing and he was doing his best to not delve into an anxiety attack at the mere thought of the boat sinking or running out of gas.

He took in another deep breath and plugged his ears harder. He could do this. They would only be out a couple hours and then he could go back home. He just had to keep reminding himself of that and keep breathing. He could do this. He could do this.

He didn’t hear the door to the office open until someone was tapping his shoulder.

“Son?”

Dib turned down his music and faced his father. “Yes?”

“We’re gonna be docking at the island today and you’re welcome to join us. Don’t worry, you won’t have to go in a boat to get to the island. The  _ Tardigrade _ has a bridge that I can extend to reach it. Are you up for it?”

Dib thought about it for a moment. Whenever his dad docked at the island, it usually meant his expeditions would take twice as long, which had Dib dreading the rest of the day. However, Mako Island is uninhabitable and hasn’t been explored before. People tend to stay away from the island due to the vast, dangerous wildlife, both on land and in the reefs surrounding it, but Dib had often wondered if there was a deeper reason behind it. Was there a paranormal creature on the island that scared people off? Or some other legend that went deeper than the rumors? He couldn’t deny that he was curious, even if it meant he was on a piece of land surrounded by water. Though, that was a better option than staying on the boat for the next few hours.

20 minutes later, Dib was bounding for the deep jungles that covered the island from top to bottom.

Mako Island is an old volcano that’s been dormant for the past 20,000 years. Dib had a theory that old fire demons were sleeping under the island, watching over it and keeping it lush full; he also believed they were the reason the volcano had been dormant. He wondered if there was any evidence of their presence around the base of the volcano.

Dib scampered over thick logs and climbed up rocky trails. The air was moist with humidity and it made breathing difficult, but he relished in every labored breath. Sweat poured down his skin so much that his clothes stuck to him, but he basked in it. Dib was in his element, exploring the unknown with no conception of danger. It was him and the vast jungle before him full of who-knows-what, and he couldn’t be happier. He couldn’t even smell the ocean from how overwhelming the jungle was. It was perfect.

Dib spent hours exploring the island as the sun dipped lower and lower in the horizon, but he still felt like he only explored not even an eighth of the island. He could keep going well into the night—he wondered what kind of creatures would roam at night should he stay—but exhaustion was starting to weigh him down and his muscles ached. The sky was already turning shades of orange and purple and it was starting to get a little cooler out as well. His dad was probably out looking for him, too, which was enough to convince him to head back to the beach.

Which way was the beach?

The jungle surrounded him on all sides and he wasn’t on high enough ground to tell which direction to go. He sighed at his stupidity. He hadn’t even thought to leave a trail for him to follow back. He kicked a rock in frustration and watched as it bounced down a rock trail, landing in a small river down below.

A river!

Dib scrambled down the trail where the rock had been kicked and stopped as close to the bank as he was comfortable being. His main fear may be the ocean, but he’d rather not risk being near any large body of water if he could help it. Still, as the river was his only way back to the beach, he had to stay close.

The sky continued to darken as Dib walked, so he brought out his phone and activated the flashlight. He also would’ve tried calling or texting his dad, but he had no signal on the island. It didn’t matter, he’d be back soon anyway. He just hoped his dad wouldn’t be too angry with him for wandering off without a contingency plan.

Soon, Dib approached a rock overpass that the river squeezed through. In order to keep following it, he would need to climb up, crossover, and then climb down the other side. It wasn’t that steep, and soon Dib was holding his arms out to balance along the rocks. The rocks were big enough to where he didn’t need to worry about falling over the edge, but because the river ran through them, they were slippery. He got anxious as he approached the gap the water ran through, and he did his best not to hyperventilate. It wasn’t a big jump, but the thought of falling in was enough to make him nervous.

Dib calmed himself and readied to jump. He didn’t need a running start, more like he needed to psych himself up so he wouldn’t chicken out.

“Come on, Dib, you can do this...you can do this…” He took in a deep breath. “One. Two. Three!” Dib jumped.

He slipped as he landed on the other side.

Dib shrieked as his feet went out from underneath him. He covered his head and closed his eyes as he hit the ground, his body skidding along the wet rocks. He thought he would go crashing into the river, but instead he felt himself sliding down a slope. The temperature dropped as he slid lower until he finally came to a stop on something soft.

He shuddered and coughed, his heart racing, and he cautiously opened his eyes. It was much darker now, but not because the sky had darkened; he slid into a cave. Wet walls towered over him as he got his bearings and fixed his skewed glasses. He was covered in aching cuts and bruises and his head throbbed. He groaned as he sat up.

The slope he had slid down was incredibly steep, and when he tried to climb out, he just ended up back at the bottom. He huffed in frustration and stood up, dusting himself off.

“Great. Just great. Now what?” Dib looked around the cave. It was dark and dingy and cold, and he shuddered as the air infected his skin. “I hope there’s another way out of here…”

Dib slowly made his way through the damp cave, hugging himself. He could hear something echoing around the walls and he did his best to follow the sound. He walked up a small rock staircase and entered another section of the cave.

He stopped dead when he saw a pool of water in the center of the room.

“No. No no no nonononono!” Dib rushed back out the way he came in and tried desperately to scramble up the slope that got him trapped down here, to no avail. He always ended up sliding back down and getting more cuts and bruises. He still kept trying though, and he wasn’t sure how long he kept at it until he injured his ankle on his latest attempt. He sat back and hugged his knees.

There was no way out. No way out except for a pool of water that led directly to the ocean.

Dib plodded back into the other room and sat as far away from the pool as possible. He pulled out his phone and  _ hoped  _ that there would be a signal on it so someone would come get him. There was none. He threw his phone in frustration and sobbed into his knees.

The water from the pool was sloshing against the walls, constantly reminding him, taunting him, that it was the only way out. He hated it. He would’ve had a better chance if he was stuck in the jungle with a broken leg, because at least then his dad could use the  _ Tardigrade  _ by transforming it into a helicopter to find him. He didn’t have those same options stuck down in a cave.

After a long while, Dib raised his head from his knees, scrubbing away at the drying tear tracks. Somehow, it had gotten even darker in the cave, and when he looked up, he saw why. The cave that he was in was directly under the mouth of the volcano and it revealed the night sky.

He stared up at the inky sky with wide eyes. He could make out the faint white dots of the stars and he could faintly make out the glow of the moon somewhere outside the rim of the volcano, most likely a distance away. If Dib had some climbing gear, he would’ve used that to get out, but at least he didn’t feel as trapped as he did before. 

Dib dared to look down at the pool. Strangely, he didn’t get as seasick looking at it even though it was connected to the ocean. Perhaps that was due to its size: only about 10 ft in diameter. It mocked him, though, with it’s trickling little waterfall and swirling bubbles and pink orbs peeking up at him.

Dib blinked. Pink orbs?

He took a closer look at the surface of the pool, at how the brightly colored orbs stared back at him intently. He raised an eyebrow at them, wondering what weird creature they could be, but then they blinked. Dib shrieked and scrambled back as the orbs rose out of the water.

They weren’t orbs. They were  _ eyes!  _ And they belonged to a  _ very  _ angry creature.

“S-Stay back, stay back! I have a knife!” Dib fumbled, reaching into his back pocket and shakily pulling out his switchblade; he didn’t like using the thing—it was a present he got from Gaz one year, and the only reason he had it on him now was because of what happened with Torque. He wasn’t even sure if the creature could understand English—most creatures in general didn’t, let alone sea creatures—but he couldn’t stop the words from blurting out.

The creature, a green humanoid thing, cocked its head to the side, one of its pink eyes squinting, and opened its mouth. A series of clicks and gurgles sounded from it, but while they were probably words to, they meant nothing to Dib. The two of them stared at one another for a bit, amber eyes against pink, and the longer Dib stared, the more he recognized the creature.

It had green skin all over, two antennae atop its head, and three-fingered hands. However, that wasn’t what caught his attention. As Dib dared to peek into the water, the creature's body went from humanoid to fish around its waist. Green and pink scales glimmered along a tail that should’ve been where a human's legs were, and it was covered in translucent, pink fins.

Dib’s breath hitched. “It’s...you...I saw you by the beach after I nearly drowned…”

The creature shrank back into the water, nearly disappearing under the surface.

“W-Wait! Don’t leave, please!” Dib scrambled to the edge of the pool, hesitating to go any farther. “Please...you saved me once, c-can you help me again?”

The creature paused and slowly turned its head up to look back at him. It’s eyes had no pupil or sclera, so it was difficult to know where it was looking specifically, but soon the creature turned to face him completely and rose hallways out of the water again. It made more clicking and gurgling noises and crossed its arms.

Dib blinked in amazement. It had listened. Not only that, but it also  _ responded.  _ Maybe not with words he could understand, but it could  _ communicate.  _ That suggested the creature was not only highly intelligent, but it could help him.

“C-Can you understand me?”

The creature’s head rolled off to one side, it’s eyes shimmering in a circular motion as it clicked off another response.

Dib gawked at the creature. “Did...did you just roll your eyes at me?”

His jaw dropped as the thing  _ smirked  _ at him and bared a row of jagged teeth.

He shook his head—he could be offended by the creature's attitude at a later time. “Never mind. Do you...know a way out of here?”

The creature gestured with a nod of its head towards the mouth of the pool, where it led to the ocean.

Dib shuddered violently and looked away. “R-Right...o-of course that’s the w-way out.” He didn’t know what he expected the creature to answer, especially since it came from the ocean, but he had still desperately hoped that he wouldn’t have to go through with it.

Another gurgle jolted him from his thoughts and he flinched when he felt something wet and scaly grab his hand. He yelped and swung his blade, catching the creature in the arm. A high-pitched screech tore through the cave, so loud and agonizing that Dib thought his ears bled. He cried out and covered his ears, dropping his knife.

In a flash, his weapon was now in the creature's hands, and it was clicking and shrieking as he swung the blade around.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Dib cried, “I didn’t mean to hurt you! You scared me!” He curled in on himself and forced his breathing in and out, trying to calm himself.

“Please don’t hurt me!”

A thick pause fell over the cave as Dib desperately tried to get his fear under control. When he dared to look up again, the creature had sank back into the pool and his switchblade was off to the side, out of both of their reaches. The creature made a soft gurgle and gestured for Dib to grab its hand.

“You...y-you want to help me?”

It nodded.

Dib swallowed thickly. “I-I-I don’t know if I can...I’m...I’m afraid of the water…”

The creature gestured to its hand again. When Dib didn’t make a move to take it, the creature reached up and grasped his hand. He gasped and pulled back, but it had a grip like iron and wouldn’t let go no matter how hard he struggled.

“P-please! I can’t go in the water. I can’t!”

The creature hissed lightly and yanked him forward, and before he could protest, he felt something nestling in his hair. A soft, melodic tune rumbled through his body, vibrating deep in his bones. Dib stopped struggling and leaned into the creature's embrace, the soft music lulling his anxiety. He felt numb yet relaxed at the same time, but he was still aware of everything going on around him.

Slowly, the creature pulled him into the water.

“Wh-what…” Dib’s voice slurred from his mouth, “What’re you doing?”

The creature trilled lightly, the music still softly playing inside Dib’s head. It reached up to his face with its other hand and gently encouraged him to close his eyes. He obeyed and leaned up against the creature as the water started lapping up his arms. He didn’t even flinch as his body was slowly pulled in.

He felt light-headed and dizzy, but in a pleasant way; like his entire body was buzzing with relaxation. It made his breathing feel labored and deeper, his heart rate slower and heavier, and his nerves trickle off and vanish. He lightly shook his head and looked up to meet the creature's gaze. It’s pink eyes glistened in the pale light of the cave, and Dib looked up farther to see that the full moon had risen and was now shining down directly above the mouth of the volcano.

The light it produced shimmered off Dib’s glasses and he found himself captivated by it. The water around them started to bubble and it tickled his skin. Perhaps he was imagining it, but he also could’ve sworn he saw water droplets rising from the pool itself.

“What’s...going on?”

The creature didn’t answer, just gently closed Dib’s eyes. The music was so distracting and the water was so relaxing. Dib never thought he’d ever think that about the ocean before. Yet, here he was in a pool in a cave being lulled by a sea creature with music before it took him to safety. He found it funny, the scenario reminded him of the way…

_ Siren’s lured men to their deaths! _

“Wait—!” Dib was pulled under before he could say anything else.

He kicked out at the creature, trying to get it to let go of its hold over him, both with its music and its physical grip, but he felt drained. Whatever this creature, this  _ siren,  _ was doing to him, he was powerless against it. He had fallen into its trap with the promise of safety, and now he was going to drown. No one knew where he was. No one was coming for him.

How could he have been so  _ stupid!  _ He was a paranormal investigator! He should’ve recognized that a pink and green creature was completely unnatural. He should’ve recognized that the way it screamed and sang gave away what it really was. But he didn’t.

His dad’s words rang in his head:  _ “No such creature exists in the ocean.” _

Dib shut his eyes. This was it. He lived his entire life afraid of the ocean and now he was going to die in it. It was oddly fitting, in a cruel, ironic way. Perhaps he should’ve stayed on the boat, after all.

His head broke the surface. He coughed and sputtered as the night air hit his lungs full force. He could feel the rough waves tossing him around and the creature still had its grip on his body. He thrashed, trying to get the siren to let him go, but it only gripped him harder and tugged him forward.

Dib couldn’t see, and he didn’t know if he wanted to, either, but he wasn’t dead. Still, he didn’t know how long he had until he was.

He was shoved forward and he shrieked, expecting to sink, but his feet brushed the sand leading up to the beach. He didn’t hesitate as he scrambled out of the water, going as far as his feet would take him to get away from the siren and ocean. He sat down in the sand and hugged his knees, the cold hitting him deep in his bones. He shivered and hiccuped and sobbed, even though he couldn’t tell the difference between tears and salt water.

Dib wanted to scream at the creature for scaring him like that, for making him think he was safe before nearly drowning him and then shoving him to shore. But his mind couldn’t focus on that because he was still here, alive albeit freezing. He forced himself to lift his head and look back at the ocean, but the siren was gone. Dib could hear the faint blades of a helicopter in the distance.


	2. Emergence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am finally with another chapter for this fic!
> 
> I'm excited that people have been enjoying this so far and I'm sorry if it was a bit before I could update. This was actually supposed to be longer, but everything I wrote after a certain point fits better into the next chapter, so I'll be working on that. This is already 13 pages long anyway so...it ain't a short update XD
> 
> Thanks for all the support and lovely comments from y'all! Seeing those is what keeps me writing! <3

Dib didn’t go to school the next day, and his dad didn’t force him to, either.

The rest of the night after his adventure with the siren was almost just as bad as nearly drowning, _again._ After his dad picked him up, he questioned and scolded Dib relentlessly about his whereabouts and his irresponsibility about the island. He was especially curious as to how and why Dib was drenched in seawater again, but Dib knew he wouldn’t believe it if he said he got trapped in a cave, found a mystic pool under the volcano, and was rescued by a siren. Of course, he also wouldn’t believe the story even if he left the siren out of it because he couldn’t swim. So, Dib said he fell into the river and eventually made his way to shore.

That was easier for his dad to understand, as well as himself. The sooner he could forget about this whole incident, the better.

By the time the _Tardigrade_ made it back to shore, Dib was dry and desperate to never look at water again. He said nothing as they walked home, and neither his dad nor Gaz bothered him as he rushed up to his room and curled into his bed; he was too tired and shaken up to take a shower after the whole ordeal, not even to wash the saltwater off his body. He felt disgusting, but the bed beckoned him more than the shower, so he ignored it.

When he woke up the next morning, it was already 11 am, and his dad and Gaz were out of the house. His dad left him a message on his phone that he would be down at the labs should he need him, but he couldn’t afford to be around him at all. Even though he enjoyed his time exploring the uncharted Mako Island, his trip through the ocean left the whole experience with a bad taste in his mouth; besides the saltwater residue that still lingered in the back of his throat.

He groaned when he got up, stretching his sore muscles and flinching at his achy legs. He wasn’t used to swimming, so he wasn’t surprised that his legs were hurting, even though he wished they weren’t. He sighed, pushed himself to his feet, and made his way to the bathroom. He may have been too tired to shower last night, but now that he was rested, he was for sure taking a shower now. He crossed the hall, making sure to grab a towel, and entered the bathroom. He turned the water up as hot as it would go and peeled off his clothes while waiting for it to boil. Today was one of those days where he wanted to just sit under the boiling water for a good hour and just think. Gaz teased him whenever he did that.

_“You’re afraid of sitting in a bathtub for a minute, but you can sit in a shower for an hour?”_

_“I don’t like being submerged, it makes me feel like I’m suffocating.”_

Dib took in a deep breath through his nose, held it for a few seconds, and then released it through his mouth. He hated when Gaz questioned his phobia; it was circumstantial and mainly directed at the ocean, but he didn’t like any body of water that he could possibly be submerged in, and that included a bathtub. He liked his long showers—they were refreshing—and he couldn’t live in fear of everything that had water in it. That was ridiculous, even for him.

He quickly checked the water, giving a nod of satisfaction, and then sat on the tile floor once he climbed in. He moaned as the warm water washed over him, washing away the salt, sand, and trauma from the night before and leaving him feeling refreshed and happy. Today would be a good day, and he promised himself that. He would stay home and watch _Mysterious Mysteries_ all day and eat nothing but popcorn and M&M’s; and no one would be around to stop him, either. He wouldn’t worry about homework, or his dad, or whatever happened the night before. Today was about relaxing and nothing was going to stop him.

Dib’s legs began to tingle again, most likely because of the water running over the sore muscles, so he tried to stretch them out in the stall, but something felt different. The tingling grew in intensity and quickly spread to every part of his body, and soon it was overwhelming. He flinched and sucked in a breath as the tingling grew into a wave of numbness and washed over him like a tidal wave; it was like his entire body fell limp. But just as quickly as it had happened, it was over. He panted briefly as he regained his composure.

“That was...weird,” he mumbled. He’d never felt something like that happen to him before. Perhaps he had sat on the floor of the shower much longer than he realized and it was his body telling him to move or get up. He sighed, shook his head, and went to stand up to start washing himself.

Only to find that he couldn’t.

His legs weren’t listening to him, and when Dib looked down, he saw why. His legs were gone, and in their place was a shimmering, deep blue tail decorated with translucent fins and lighter blue scales. They glistened under the water of the shower, glowing in the faint rays of sunlight that passed through the window. He stared at the new appendage, not completely registering what exactly happened and just watching the water run off the scales. When his eyes traveled up, however, they widened as they discovered that the fishy limb was indeed attached to his waist and he was not hallucinating. So, he did the logical thing.

He screamed.

“What the fuck! How the—Why the—Fucking—What?!” He screamed again and tried to get up, but he quickly realized that it’s much harder to get up and run with the sudden lack of legs. He ended up landing on his chest and he groaned as a jolt of pain exploded in his rib cage. The shower continued to rain down water, but his upper body had slipped out, so it was mainly coating the tail. He attempted to reach for the handle to shut it off, but he could barely lift his chest off the ground.

Dib screamed again, only this time in frustration, and he tried to sit up, but the water from the shower made him slippery and his arms weren’t used to supporting his body. They slipped out from underneath him and he landed on his chin, his teeth making a cringing _clatter!_ He shrieked and held his poor chin, hissing in pain as a couple blood droplets dribbled from his lips. He spat on the floor, his saliva rose colored, and he groaned as he turned to look behind him.

The blue tail was still there, still attached to him, and still very much real. He tried moving it, flicking the flipper or wiggling the tail of lifting his hips, but either the tail was incredibly heavy or he was not used to the new muscles because it didn’t budge. He huffed in frustration. How typical.

“Fucking hell...just…” Dib has no words for what the actual _fuck_ was going on. In all his years and experience with the paranormal, he was prepared for almost anything. Bigfeets? He had bear traps. Vampire bees? Garlic and vinegar did the trick. Growing a fish tail when you stepped into the shower? He was stumped. “Fuck…”

He groaned as he tried moving again, pulling himself forward with his forearms and trying desperately to push himself by flicking the tail. He managed to move six inches. He panted heavily and tried again, groaning just to drag himself forward to...to...what exactly? How was he supposed to get rid of this thing? Dib tried pulling himself forward again, but he didn’t get very far because his arm slipped, though he luckily avoided busting his chin again. He slammed his fist on the tile, cursing. He wouldn’t get very far if he continued like this; he’d need to dry off some if he wanted to figure this out.

He spied his towel where he had set it on the toilet and desperately dragged himself towards it. It took a bit, much longer than he would’ve ever liked or admitted, but he finally was close enough to pull the towel down and dry himself. Dib scrubbed furiously, angry that this stupid _thing_ was making his life difficult when he had already had a shitty week and had declared that today would be a relaxing one. He must’ve scrubbed himself so hard that a few scales rubbed off, leaving the skin beneath it raw and achy. He wasn’t sure how long he spent trying to dry himself, but soon he felt tingly again, and it washed over him once more, leaving him panting. He felt drier than before, and when he looked down, his legs were back—he was also naked, but that fact was unsurprising since he had been in the shower.

He blinked, bewildered, and then let out a huge sigh of relief. He sank to the floor, letting the cold tiles roll over his back and seep into his skin. For an indefinite amount of time, he lied there, the water running from the shower droning into white noise. Finally, he sat up, cautiously crossing and uncrossing his legs a few times. “What...was that?”

That question rattled in his brain and continued to do so even as Dib shakily got to his feet. His eyes drifted over the bathroom and eventually landed on the running shower that he forgot had still been on. He went to go turn it off, but he hesitated as he eyed the drops along the handle. He grew a tail standing under the shower, who was to say the same thing wouldn’t happen again just because he was dry again? But he couldn’t leave the shower running...

He gulped, his fingers trembling as he slowly extended them towards the shower faucet. He hesitated before grabbing it, the fear that he would grow fins once again holding him back. He breathed in deeply, trying to psych himself up, before he slammed the faucet off and backed away, grabbing the towel to dry off any remaining droplets on his hand. He tensed, preparing for the tingles to come over him again, but nothing happened after a minute or so; it didn’t take this long the first time it happened. After another moment of listening to the shower head drip, he pulled his hand out of the towel and stared at his skin, wondering if it would somehow reveal the answer, but it didn’t.

What exactly had just happened?

Dib wondered if he had just imagined the whole thing. It was possible he was still dreaming, right? That could be it. He must’ve been so exhausted from such a traumatic experience that he was having a nightmare about becoming a fish. That was a logical answer. It had to be. Perhaps not showering last night was a bad idea and the smell of seawater was making him think he was part fish. He shook his head.

“That has to be it,” he reassured himself, “I’m just dreaming and I’ll wake up any second now. I just gotta...wake myself up.” He pinched himself in the thigh as hard as he could and hissed at the pain. However, he didn’t jolt awake. “It has to be a dream. Or a hallucination. I just imagined it! I had to!”

Dib paced the floor of the bathroom erratically, mumbling to himself and chewing his nails. He was imagining it. He was imagining it. He just had to keep telling himself that. It wasn’t real, he was just extremely tired. It wasn’t real. He was imagining it.

The water steadily dripping from the showerhead sounded again, bringing him out of his thoughts. He stared intently at each drop that fell from it, like it was taunting him. He frowned. He was better than this. The ocean freaking him out was one thing, it was another to be freaking out over water dripping from the shower. This wasn’t real. What happened in the shower _hadn’t_ happened. And he would prove it to himself, right now.

He strided over to the shower and caught a drop on his hand, watching it bead and roll over his skin. He smirked to himself as he watched it travel down his arm. “Nothing happened. Just like how it should be. I knew it wasn’t—”

A wave of tingles spread through Dib’s body and he yelped as he crumpled to the floor in a heap of limbs. He landed roughly on his shoulder and his head barely missed the edge of the bathtub. He cried out as he rolled over, hissing in pain as tears gathered in his eyes; he didn’t try to stop them. After the pain ebbed away briefly, he chanced sitting up and recoiled at the sight of the deep blue tail that replaced his legs. He tried to move it and shuddered as he saw, as he _felt,_ the flipper move. It was freaky and _unnatural._

He hated it.

“How did this happen?” he grumbled as he grabbed the towel again and rubbed it over the scaly limb, ignoring the way it felt against the new skin. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of fish filled the bathroom, and it probably didn’t help that he hadn’t actually showered yet. Did this mean he could never shower again? There was no way he’d be able to get away with that. Someone would notice how bad he smelled eventually.

His eyes widened. He had screamed several times earlier; once alone would’ve had his dad running, especially with the events of the night before. If he was home, he would’ve burst through the door and seen…Dib shuddered. He couldn’t bear to think about what his dad would’ve said or done should he have seen him like this. Would he even acknowledge what was going on or ignore it like every other paranormal thing Dib had tried to show him? What if he did believe him and he wanted to experiment on him? Anxiety coursed through Dib’s veins at that thought.

“No. Dad wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that to me,” he mumbled, scrubbing the tail harder, “He wouldn’t. He’d never.”

Dib skin tingled again as his legs reappeared, and he crossed them as he pondered. What exactly was he supposed to do now? Did this happen every time he touched water? Did that mean he could never drink water again? Would saltwater have a different effect on him? Freshwater? What about foods or products containing water, did he need to avoid those? What if it rained or what if he cried or drooled in his sleep? Would he wake up and have to deal with a tail? What about school? What about his family? Would he have to live like this the rest of his life?

He shook his head roughly, snapping himself out of his anxiety-inducing trance. There were too many questions to tackle all at once, and if he thought any longer, he was going to end up having an anxiety attack; he certainly didn’t need _that_ right now. He spent a few minutes focusing on his breathing: in through the nose, hold for a few seconds, out through the mouth. It definitely helped, and he felt like he could think clearer already. However, breathing through his nose also reminded him of how much he smelled like the ocean—although, he wasn’t sure if that was from the leftover seawater on his body or the tail. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he’d need to shower first.

He eyed the stall again and groaned. “Third times the charm,” he said, and he reached for the shower faucet.

* * *

It turned out that water was a bigger part of Dib’s life than he originally thought, and he couldn’t hate the substance more than he did throughout the next three days.

He spent an hour slipping and sliding in the shower just trying to cleanse himself, but he still smelled like fish when he eventually got out, or rather crawled out. He also discovered that he had to be 100% honest to god _dry_ if he wanted his legs back, which included his unruly, thick black hair and cowlick. That made for another 30 minutes of just rubbing the towel over his sopping wet body; 10 minutes just on his hair. It was close to 2 pm by the time he finally exited the bathroom, meaning he’s spent _3 hours_ in there.

He tried to relax the rest of the day, determined not to let the fish problem ruin his day off, but he kept running into little problems every time he did. He quickly discovered that soda triggered a transformation, as well as the condensation on the can; he also discovered that it was very difficult trying to grab a towel out of the top drawer in the kitchen when he couldn’t sit up all the way. Washing his hands was impossible to do without triggering the transformation or busting his face on the floor or counter unless he was sitting, and hand sanitizer contained water, so that was out of the question, too. He also had no idea that there were puddles of water by the door, caused by his dad’s rubber boots, until he accidentally stepped in one while trying to get his shoes on when he tried going for a walk. His arms were sore and rubbed raw by the time he pulled himself into the kitchen to grab the towel, to say the least—also his lungs from screaming in rage every time he fell on the floor.

Of course, that was only the beginning of the problems. Whenever the tail appeared, his clothes and glasses disappeared and left him completely bare chested and blind as a bat. He knew his way around the house, of course, but it still didn’t prevent him from miscalculating where a wall or piece of furniture was. Along with his arms, his head hurt from slamming it into said objects trying to find his way around. At least the missing items reappeared when he was dry again.

Doing the dishes was also no longer an option without gloves, and that became a problem when there weren’t any and when Gaz told him it was his turn to do them when she returned from school. He begged her for an hour to do them for him, and the only reason he won was because he promised he’d buy her games for the next 6 months. When his dad came home, he was carrying wet gear that he asked Dib to come help clean. Dib then proceeded to explain how the smell of saltwater would give him an anxiety attack, and for once, being thalassophobic was beneficial because his dad left him alone after that—he probably also felt bad after the bad experience on Mako yesterday.

Of course, Dib still managed to accidentally step in the trail of water the gear had dripped onto the floor. He never ran to the bathroom so fast in his life.

The rest of the weekend was spent being overly cautious about the tiniest drops of water, because it only took one drop to have him pop the tail. One drop. And if he couldn’t dry it in time, he had 10 seconds to find the bathroom or lock himself in his room, which earned him some weird looks from his family when he eventually emerged again.

_“I know you’re afraid of water, but this is ridiculous, even for you.”_

_“Son, if your phobia is getting worse, you know it’s ok to ask for help, right?”_

“I’m fine,” Dib always responded, not meeting their eyes.

He felt at war with himself at all times, and not just between the two forms he switched between at a water drop’s notice. He mentally argued with himself for not saying what was wrong, for not asking for help or a solution to the problem. His dad was a marine biologist and his sister could at least offer him moral support, in her own, unique way. Yet, every time he thought about opening his mouth to spill the secret, thoughts of scalpels, knives, and drills piercing his skin and slicing him open bombarded him, and they were all wielded by the hands of his father and assistants. He wanted desperately to believe that his dad would put his scientific background aside and help him should he ask, but the thought of being tossed under a microscope because of what he turned into sounded like it would easily entice his father, and he would be lost to the hands of scientific endeavors.

If he wasn’t fretting about water, he was lost in thought about the _whys._ Why is this happening? Why did this happen? Why _him?_ Those three questions kept him up all weekend, scribbling furiously in notebooks and chewing his fingernails until they bled. They drove him to near anxiety attacks at the thought of living with this _curse_ for the rest of his life. He recalled nearly drowning back with the siren in the ocean, and he easily would’ve taken _that_ over turning into a fish if so much as one flake of skin or strand of hair got wet. He also didn’t know how, but Dib was positive the siren had something to do with this; he just didn’t know how, let alone how he could reverse it.

What if he _couldn’t_ reverse it?

By the time Monday rolled around, Dib was functioning on 3 hours of sleep _total_ over the weekend, and he was dreading going to school.

He rubbed his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that morning as he plodded down the hall, dragging his feet and hanging his head. He was so out of it that he didn’t notice Gaz giving him weird looks until she was elbowing him in the ribs. He hissed at that and turned to glare at her. “What was that for?”

“You look like a depressed zombie, and I want you to cut it out.”

Dib sighed. “I’m just tired, Gaz. Leave me alone.”

“Yeah, I’d be tired too if I stayed up till 6 am mumbling to myself,” she scoffed, “Wanna tell me what’s going on in that big head of yours?”

“My head’s not big, and what do you care, anyway?” The duo approached Dib’s locker and he lazily shuffled through it to grab his books for first period.

“I _don’t_ care, but I’m not stupid. Something’s up with you, more so than usual. I know you won’t talk to dad, but you’ll eventually tell me. So, what is it?”

Dib closed his locker and tried to hide the way his muscles tensed. He turned to face her. She stood with her back against the lockers, arms crossed, her head down, but she was looking up at him through an open eye; she wasn’t squinting. He stared at her for a moment, unsure what to do. Gaz had a point, no matter how much he hated to admit it: he _didn’t_ have anyone to talk to except her.

He could tell her. Tell her everything. Pour his heart out and cry about how frustrated this whole thing was. Gaz would believe him, or at least listen to him and tell him bluntly how to deal with it. She would...

Dib turned away and walked down the hall. “Nothing is wrong. I’ll see you at lunch.”

She didn’t try to follow him.

Despite how tired he was, Dib managed to pay attention in class, but not on what the teachers were teaching. No, he paid attention to his surroundings, especially if they had water. He nearly had to run to the bathroom when someone spilled their water bottle right next to him, and he also found out he had the coordination to scramble over four desks when some idiot decided it was funny to chuck a cup of water at another classmate. He was given weird looks and pointed and laughed at all day, and while he was used to it to some extent, Dib always felt the bullying he received was just because he was interested in the paranormal. Now, he was just giving them fuel for his demise.

When the bell for lunch rang, Dib slipped into the quietest boys bathroom he could find and locked himself in one of the stalls. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open, and having eyes in the back of his head to constantly watch everyone and everything around him was getting harder when he barely had one pair of functioning eyes. He groaned and placed his head in his knees, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the disgusting smell of dirty toilet water that reeked in the bathroom. He knew Gaz was waiting for him at their usual table, but he didn’t want to deal with the stares and snickers of the other students; he also knew that Gaz would ask what was wrong again, and he didn’t want to deal with that question just yet.

He didn’t know how long he stayed locked in the bathroom, but the sound of the door opening had him jolting awake from what appeared to be a light nap. Dib hugged his knees tighter as voices filled the room, ones he recognized.

“We know you’re in here, Dib. You’re not with your stupid sister in the lunchroom, so why don’t you come out, eh?” Torque’s slimy voice called. Dib hugged his knees tighter and held his breath. This wasn’t the first time this scenario happened, so perhaps if he was quiet, they’d go away.

“I’ll give you till the count of three to come out and maybe this’ll be a little easier.”

Dib flinched as one of the bathroom stalls was punched open. “One.”

Dib was in the last stall, and if he couldn’t think of something soon, he’d be caught.

Another stall was busted open. “Two.”

Dib silently stepped off the toilet, his heart pounding, and slid open the lock as quietly as possible. Then, he readied to duck under the next stall to escape out the door.

“Three!” The third stall was punched open and Dib made his move, slipping under the divider and crawling through the next stall. He scrambled to his feet and made a bolt for the door, but he squeaked as he was grabbed by his collar and thrown against the wall.

“Thought that would work? You really are stupid, Stinkbrain,” Torque said, chuckling.

Dib struggled to his feet, the back of his head throbbing terribly with each movement. He froze as Torque loomed over him, trapping him. “I know you enjoyed your swimming lesson last week, because I’ve been hearing rumors that you’re a little more receptive to water, especially when it’s splashed in your face.”

Dib shrank, the “punchline” so obvious that it didn’t need to be said, and his heart raced as one of Torque’s goons went over and turned on the faucet. The water spilled from the gross sink, looking less than appealing to wash one’s hands with. However, water was water, and if it touched him in front of Torque, he was going to end up more than just a laughing stock.

“Go get a cup! I wanna watch him squirm!” Torque yelled to one of his buddies, who quickly slipped out the door.

Dib gulped, trying to control his racing heart and erratic breathing. He was trapped, not just physically, but mentally, too. He could feel his thoughts rushing behind his eyes, too many at once to process. He knew he had to leave, but he’d never be able to slip past Torque, and that was _if_ he could get his feet to move. He didn’t know what to do. He tried to look anywhere but up at Torque’s scary face, but his eyes landed on the water pouring into the sink. The loud, droning noise pounded on his head the more he watched, the more he listened. It was like a waterfall, not just flowing from the faucet, but rumbling in the pipes inside the walls. He could hear every creak and groan, every hiss and splutter. He could hear it so clearly that he could _feel_ it in the pit of his stomach, growing and gurgling. And he couldn’t look away.

He hated it, and he wanted it off. He wanted it to go away. He wanted it to stop. Stop. Stop!

The bathroom went quiet again as the faucet shut itself off, but it wasn’t just that the water ceased to flow from it; Dib could’ve sworn he saw the handle _twist_. Torque took his eyes off him and eyed the faucet, and Dib could see the little gears in his brain trying to turn and comprehend how that had happened. The bully gestured for his other buddy to turn the faucet back on, and soon it was running again.

Dib raised an eyebrow at the anomaly, the fear in his gut slowly ebbing away and being replaced with curiosity. He stared at the running water, his gaze more focused this time. He could still feel Torque staring at him, probably taunting him, too, but Dib didn’t hear it. He focused on the water.

He wanted it off.

The faucet shut itself off once again, and Dib _did_ see the handle twist. Torque spun around again and eyed the cheap porcelain sink, going over to inspect it and arguing with the other about how stupid the thing was being. Dib stayed where he was, eyebrows furrowed and fingers twitching. He looked down to find that his hands weren’t curled against his chest like he originally thought. Well, one of them wasn’t; it was extended slightly, palm open, and fingers curled like they were trying to wrap around something. His eyes widened and he looked back up at the faucet, up at Torque and his friend messing around and cursing at the sink.

He twisted his hand slightly, like he was turning the knob to the faucet. He wanted it on.

Water flowed from the sink again, gently at first, but the more Dib twisted his hand, it quickly got stronger. Soon, the water was spraying so hard that the faucet couldn’t handle the pressure, but he didn’t stop. He twisted his hand more, urging the water to erupt from the sink, from the walls, from the pipes. He could feel the current, each individual drop coursing through the walls like blood through his own veins. Dib felt entranced, like the water was calling to him, like he was calling to it. A crescendo of pressure begging to burst as he urged it further and further. He twisted his hand more. He wanted more.

The sink exploded as water flooded from the wall in a huge waterfall. Dib heard Torque and his lackey scream, saw them get consumed by the waterfall, watched them slip and slide out the bathroom door and down the hall. He shrieked as the water rushed by his feet, but it never touched them. The roar of the water continued for a while, until Dib noticed that he still had his hand held up, so he clenched it and placed it back by his side. The water ceased to flow from the wall.

Dib let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and panted heavily. His legs trembled with his pounding heart and he could barely keep himself upright as he slipped against the wall. He looked down at his feet and noticed he was standing in the only dry spot in the bathroom; a perfect circle around his feet. Reality finally hit him when he heard Torque screaming outside the bathroom, his voice echoing from the opposite end of the hallway.

Dib tiptoed through the water and exited the bathroom. At the end of the hall, a teacher was yelling at Torque, her face red with fury over the mess and asking who was responsible for this. Dib was already gone by the time Torque raised a finger to point at him.

* * *

Dib zoned out as his feet carried him far away from the school and prying eyes. He knew he shouldn’t have run, but once he took off, it was like a part of him took over and refused to let him stop. His entire body was buzzing with energy, pent up and unspent and desperate for release, and it refused to stop even as his lungs begged for a break. Everything flew by his eyes in a blur and he had no idea where he was or where he was going, his feet just ran.

Eventually, his adrenaline ran out and his legs broke their rhythm, urging himself to a stop. Dib nearly collapsed onto the ground, his legs shaking beyond his control as he rested his palms on his knees. He panted for a good while, trying to replenish the oxygen that had been sucked from his body, before he eventually stood upright once again. He was in the park near his house, the one where Torque and his gang threw him into the ocean, but he didn’t care about that detail. If he wanted to, he could head home and lock himself in his room and not think about the fact that he just ditched school after flooding the bathroom.

A sigh escaped his lips as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, breaking into a leisurely walk; or at least as leisurely as one could get when their legs threatened to give out with every step. Dib wanted to head for home, but the more he walked, the more he didn’t want to accidentally run into his father should he be there early. He didn’t know what time it was either, but considering he was let out for lunch, he guessed it was still a few hours before school would be out. He made his way through the park, letting his legs wander to wherever they felt. When he felt like they would give out, he all but collapsed onto a nearby park bench.

Just as his legs gave into the bench, though, Dib’s thoughts came crashing down on him. Sweat poured down his face in buckets and he closed his eyes as his head pounded. He recalled the way the water had called to him, the way it listened and responded to him. It felt alive, like a pulse, and it pounded with his racing heart and reacted with each finger twitch. He felt disgusted by it, the way it felt connected to him, more intimately than anything ever could be, yet he was intrigued by it as well.

Dib’s fear of the ocean ran deep into his past after a tragic accident with a rip current left him hospitalized, and it resurfaced every time he was near the water. A psychologist would argue that his irrational fear of drowning was the reason he was never able to get over the incident, but Dib would argue that it was the water itself having a constant hold over him, trapping him in a never ending cycle and pulling him in deeper every time he got too close to the substance, even if it never touched him. Yet, in the bathroom, _he_ was the one in control. He controlled when it could flow from the sink and when it could burst through the walls. Yes, he was scared by Torque’s threat of unknowingly exposing his new, dark secret, but the substance responsible for turning him into that thing was bending to his will with a mere flick of his wrist.

Dib opened his eyes and surveyed the area, feeling the strange urge to get up and walk again, though he didn’t know where. He ended up zoning out, and after an indefinite amount of time, he was surprised to find himself on the sandy beaches near the park, and even more surprised to find himself not about to delve into an anxiety attack. Narrowed eyes watched the way waves crashed over one another into the sandy shores. The sight had his nerves on end, yet he found an odd thrill to it, so raw and deep that it nearly scared him. He could feel the water’s push and pull of the tide even from a distance, beckoning him forward and drawing him in.

He trudged forward through the thick sand, closer to the water’s edge, entranced but still very much aware of everything around him. Rocks jutted out of the sand and along the waterline, creating little tide pools for water to get trapped in after it receded during low tide. Dib approached one of them and crouched down. It was no more than a few inches deep at most, but it was enough for his little experiment. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath: in through his nose, hold for a few, out through the mouth. After a few moments passed, he opened his eyes and held out his hand, twisting it like he was turning on a faucet.

Dib watched with wide eyes as a tentacle of water rose up from the pool, getting longer the more he twisted his hand. Soon, it towered over him like the rocks, so he willed and guided it around his body. It coiled around him like a snake, but it obeyed to his every movement. If it got too close, he pushed it away; if it got too far, he pulled it back. He tamed it like a snake charmer, hypnotizing it and bending it to his will, and it listened. An airy chuckle escaped his mouth as he watched all this unfold before his eyes. It felt unreal and indescribable. So long Dib had feared the way the water could drag him down and drown him, and now he stood tall as the water bowed at his beck and call. 

“Perhaps this won’t be so bad after all,” he murmured, smiling to himself.

A loud burst of laughter startled him and he jumped, breaking his concentration and hold over the water. It rained down on him and the sand, coating him from head to toe and leaving him sputtering and dazed. He looked behind him and saw a group of people running down the shore and heading for the water, but he had bigger problems to worry about. The 10 seconds started the second one drop made contact with his skin, and he lost track of how much time had passed.

There was no time to run home. No time to find a towel. No time to dry off. He had to hide, and he had to hide _now!_

Dib sucked in a breath as he ran behind a cluster of rocks, feeling the wave of tingles wash over him just as he ducked behind them; and just as an actual wave rolled over him and the shore as he hit the sand. He coughed and sputtered, trying to pick himself up and drag himself close to the rocks so he could be out of view, but another wave washed over him and shoved his face into the sand. The water was all over him, in his fingers and hair and in each individual scale along the tail. He shuddered and curled in on himself, whimpering. So many new feelings and nerves came over him whenever the tail appeared, both physically and metaphorically, and it overwhelmed him. He felt too sensitive for his own good, and it didn’t help that he could only make out fuzzy shapes in front of him due to his glasses disappearing.

Another wave crashed over him and he gagged as some salt water slid down his throat. He tried moving again but the sand was too wet and he sank into it, and with no legs to help, he was trapped. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t think straight. The confidence that swelled in his chest earlier had been squashed and it left him just as raw and naked as his bare chest.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t—

Dib screamed as something grabbed a hold of the tail and dragged him into the waves. He flailed and clawed at the sand, desperate for it to trap him, hold him, swallow him before the ocean did. But it didn’t. He sucked in a breath as he was forced into the water.


	3. Depths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this fic started back in May, this particular chapter I am dedicating to [ZADR Week 3](https://zadrweek3.tumblr.com/post/622680511485280256/zadrweek3-all-forms-of-art-will-be-accepted/) over on tumblr! This was for Day 1, but I'm late for that. Oh well XD
> 
> Prompt: Awkward beginnings
> 
> Man, I didn't mean for this chapter to take this long. I was honestly burnt out from all the one shots from Summer ZADR week. Oh well, this chapter is incredibly long so I hope it makes up for it.

Dib shut his eyes tight as the sea swallowed him whole, the waves pulling him further down its throat to ensure he never got the chance to resurface. Despite that, he blindly clawed at the unforgiving beast, to pull himself back up or at least die trying. However, he couldn’t fool himself into thinking that he would be able to get out of this. His chest was tight with trapped air and his heart was rapidly pumping fear throughout his body, making his skin burn despite the icy current. Thoughts ricocheted through his mind so hard and fast they left him overwhelmed and unable to think at all. His lower half was completely incapacitated by a limb he could barely move, and whatever was dragging him by said limb dug it’s unforgiving claws deep into the flesh that he knew he was bleeding.

Dib wanted to hyperventilate, but he wasn’t sure if that was from the lack of oxygen, drowning, or being dragged to the bowels of the ocean. He continued to thrash despite it, though, even if all his movements felt jerky, like his bones setting into rigor mortis before his heart gave out. Still, he must’ve been putting up some sort of fight because a voice rocked him into stiffness.

“Stop thrashing, you stupid land-walker! Zim is _trying_ to help!”

Dib’s eyes shot open and he dared to look over his shoulder. He didn’t know what to expect as his eyes laid upon his kidnapper, but he was surely shocked to find the same green skin and pink eyes from Mako staring back at him.

“What’re you do—?” Dib’s hands clamped his mouth shut, but there was no taking back the mistake he just made.

The creature’s eyes glistened in a circular motion, much like how they did the last time. “Oh, enough with your drama. You’re perfectly fine to breathe underwater in this form.”

Dib eyed the creature, distrust prickling his skin just as much as it’s claws along the tail. He had thought long and hard about what he’d do if he ever found the siren again, but all those thoughts of confronting it and forcing it to turn him normal were long gone in his mind. He was in the same position as before and just had to trust it’s word that he would be fine. It saved him twice before, so why would it lie now? His chest tightened, begging for some oxygen. He squeezed his eyes shut before the last of his air left his mouth in bubbles and he sucked in a breath.

He could...breath. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes as he took in more cautious breaths, the water flowing in and out of his mouth like air, albeit thicker, like how it would feel when the air was humid.

Dib dared to meet the eyes of the siren, deep pink and plump like grapes. They seemed to almost sparkle underwater, like the way his own glasses glinted when they caught sunlight. He blinked, staring at the creature intently before he gasped.

He could see.

He could see _everything._ The clear outline of the creature’s body, it’s frilly pink and black antennae, the way it’s skin melded into pink and green scales along its waist, and the way it’s pink, translucent fins shimmered and drifted in the water. It was exotic and entrancing, and it was ruined when the creature poked him between the eyes.

“Ow! Hey!” Dib exclaimed, rubbing his head. “What was that for?”

“You were staring and I had to be sure you were still alive,” it stated, sticking its chin up and crossing its arms. “Should Zim just let you drift alone in the ocean, then?”

Dib realized that the creature had let go of the tail and he was, indeed, drifting away. He yelped and tried to swim up, his arms flailing as the weight of the tail dragged him down. His mouth fumbled as it tried to make words work, unsure if asking for help would ruin whatever dignity he had left. After an agonizing moment, the creature groaned and swam down, grasping Dib’s hand and yanking him back up. “It’s pathetic that you don’t know how to swim. Your kind manages to splash around in the waves just fine, and siren pups learn to swim within the first moments of birth.”

“I-I never...learned,” Dib mumbled, trembling as he attempted to keep himself at the same level as the siren without clinging to him. “Wait, h-how can I understand you? You spoke in gurgles last time.”

“Zim does not gurgle when speaking!” the creature, who Dib guessed called itself Zim, hissed. “You just didn’t know how to understand me!”

“Understand you?” Dib’s eyebrows furrowed. “You sounded like the combination of a fish and snake every time you opened your mouth!”

Zim hissed again and shoved him backwards, pinning him against a nearby rock. He shrieked as the coarse surface left welts along his back. “Do not insult me, human. I save your scales twice and tell you to stay away, yet I find you attracting attention on the beach!? How many times must you get yourself in trouble before you can take a hint!?”

Dib tried to move his wrists, but it was a meek attempt with how surprisingly strong Zim’s grip was, not to mention his limbs still felt stiff and locked. He would’ve kicked out at him, but the weight of the tail was still too much to move, so the only weapon he had at the moment was his mouth. “You think I enjoy being around the water? I’m fucking terrified! But it’s a little hard to avoid when I end up growing fins whenever I touch it,” he spat. “And _you’re_ the one who did this to me, so it’s your fault!”

“ _My_ fault?” Zim snarled. “If you weren’t poking your smelly face around Mako, then this wouldn’t have happened!”

Dib paused at that and turned to meet the creature's uncanny eyes. “The... _island_ did this?”

Zim gave a curt nod, his eyes narrowed. “That stupid cave you found yourself in, with the pool? You just so happened to be in it when the full moon passed over. I tried to get you out before it passed, but you wouldn’t move fast enough.”

“I’m scared of the water!”

Zim snorted. “And now you have a whole new reason to be scared of it.”

“This would’ve been easier if you had just spoken English instead of gurgling!”

“Zim doesn’t gurgle!”

The two continued to squabble for an indescribable amount of time, all the while Dib continued to remain pinned. Every little movement caused the course surface to dig into his back, making him wince. He wanted to get out of here and dry off and go home, but instead he was here, arguing with a thick-headed fish that couldn’t be bothered to shut up for a moment. His nerves were in a frenzy and he was drained after everything that happened today, but even though it had been a lot, it was beneficial in some regard. He opened his palms and twisted his wrists.

He wanted him off.

Dib expected a huge current to drag him off, something powerful like that waterfall in the bathroom to send Zim tumbling away, but nothing changed. Zim squinted an eye at him and Dib twisted his free hand more, urging the water to yank him off.

Nothing happened.

Zim chuckled. “Ah, I see you discovered there’s more to your little situation, eh?”

Dib looked away, wishing he could control his racing heart and the way it made his cheeks heat up. “I don’t know what you’re—”

Zim clasped the hand he was using to manipulate the current. “Foolish land-walker. Zim is no pup! I will not be fooled by your pitiful attempts at powers!”

Before Dib could protest, he was yanked around again, this time by the arm and thankfully towards the surface. Still, it didn’t mean he appreciated being hauled around like a parent dragging their kid out of the candy store. They eventually broke the surface and Dib was surprised to see the walls of a cave instead of the beach. However, he was shrieking as he was tossed up onto the damp, cold sands before he could voice his concern.

He spat sand out of his mouth. “What the heck was _that_ for?!” He twisted himself to look at Zim, but could only see a green blob with fuzzy pink circles for eyes. It seemed he could only have clear vision if he was underwater. Lovely.

“For being a nosy little human who can’t learn to stay away. Perhaps some time in here will teach you something.” Zim’s head started to sink below the surface.

“Wait!” Dib scrambled to the edge but ended up punching a rock in his blindness, wincing. “You can’t just leave me here!”

“Oh, yes I can! You’re causing too much trouble and you’ll do more harm than good if you keep this up! Better off not taking that chance.”

“Wait! No, please!”

“Bye bye, human!”

“I’ll tell people about you!”

A suffocating silence hung over Dib, and for a pregnant beat he felt like he was trapped underwater again. Then, he shrieked as he was shoved over, a green blob in his face when he opened his eyes. “Don’t you dare tell people about Zim.” It came out in a hiss, barely audible, but there was a subtle undertone of fear laced within it.

Dib stared at the blob of colors most likely too close to his face and nodded. “I _will_ tell them. I’ll tell them everything. A-And you think people won’t come looking for you? They will.” The words felt odd leaving his mouth, so dark and threatening for his liking, but he refused to be stuck in a cave at the mercy of a siren. “And even if I don’t make it out to tell them, do you honestly think people won’t come looking for me?”

A strangled growl curled around Dib’s ears. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” The confidence in his voice surprised himself. “You really wanna take that chance?”

The silence crawled back between them again and Dib held whatever brave face he had on to the threatening blob of neon colors in front of him. No one believed in the paranormal when it walked on land, so Dib _knew_ no one would bat an eye if he said he met with a siren. If anything, he’d be endangering _himself_ for being sent to the Crazy House for Boys again rather than endangering him. However, Zim didn’t need to know that…

“How do I know you won’t tell others about Zim when you get back?”

Dib nearly gasped in relief at the siren even _considering_ his threat an actual threat, but he held himself together. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“That’s not good enough. You must do something in return, not to mention that you’ll be a problem should you not know how to handle yourself and your...situation.”

“What do you...mean?” Dib gulped.

“I mean that you’ll have to come back so I can properly instruct you in the ways of the siren, since your puny land-walker mind cannot figure it out.”

“Hey! I’m not stupid! I could too figure it out!”

“Oh, really? And come back to the ocean of your own accord and teach yourself to swim?”

Dib stiffened and lowered his head.

“That’s what I thought...Zim will instruct you in the ways of swimming _and_ you will give something with each lesson! No other options!”

Dib sighed, not willing to argue with his logic. He wanted to ask how he could just be cured of this whole mess, but he was afraid of being left in the cave for good. While he would give _anything_ to not come back for swimming lessons taught by a bratty, overgrown fish, perhaps it was the only way to get some answers out of him. “Fine. What do you want?”

“Eh?”

“What do you want me to bring for you?”

The silence surprised him, but he supposed Zim was thinking. He couldn’t see his facial expression thanks to his impaired vision, but he was patient for an answer. He mumbled something that Dib didn’t hear, but before he could ask what it was, Zim spoke up, “I want the white puffy things.”

“White...puffy things?”

“Yes. The squishy, puffy things that you put in your mouth and they’re weird to chew but very good.”

“White puffy—you mean marshmallows?”

“Yes! That it’s exactly what I want! I want marsh-melly’s!”

Dib raised an eyebrow at Zim’s odd request, but shook his head. “Alright, I can get you some marshmallows, but I’ll need you to...take me back to shore…”

“Yes, yes, of course. Zim will take you back, sand-smelly.” Zim waved a blobby hand back and forth and roughly grabbed ahold of Dib’s arm.

“It’s Dib,” he spat, flinching as he was forced into the water again.

“Yes, of course, smelly. You can call me Zim.”

“Whatever, fish-boy.”

* * *

“Chewing too many of those at once will make you suffocate, you know?” Dib said, but if the warning had any affect on the siren, he had no idea.

Zim, whose mouth was currently stuffed with at least 13 marshmallows, growled a response that was impossible to decipher amongst the jet-puffed gooiness. Dib sighed and pulled his knees to his chest, hoping that Zim’s chewing battle with the processed sugar treats would go on long enough for him to be able to slip away without getting in the water. The beach was calm today, a warm day sporting the occasional seashell collector wading through the shallows or hunting for crabs. However, Zim chose this spot specifically so that they wouldn’t be caught by any onlookers, even if they were just passing through.

Dib was surprised he could get away with not going straight home after school, but he supposed that was because he didn’t tell his dad where he was actually going. His dad would’ve thought he was sick if he were to mention he was _voluntarily_ going to the beach. But he didn’t want to not tell his dad about his whereabouts lest he worry. So, he did the thing that teenagers did and lied about it, saying that he was studying after school. Gaz has given him a look about that excuse when they got a moment alone, but she quickly dropped it and walked off; that didn’t sit well with him, but he ignored it in favor of drowning his thoughts at the beach.

Zim sputtered a cough and Dib looked up to find that he somehow swallowed the massive, goopy mess. Although, he was still picking white stuff out of his sharp, pink teeth. “Zim appreciates your offering. Now get in the water.”

A wave hissed up the shoreline, swirling around the rock Dib was perched on. “Do I have to?”

“Yes! You must!”

“Right.”

Dib didn’t move, and he didn’t move for another 10 minutes. The waves were incredibly loud in those 10 minutes.

Zim slapped his tail against the surface. “Does Zim need to drag you into the water every time?”

“No,” Dib squeaked.

“Then. Get. In.”

Dib gulped as he unfolded his legs to touch the sand below him, only to shriek and snap them back up again when another wave slithered up the sand. Zim didn’t say anything, his scowl enough of a reprimand. Dib somehow controlled his unstable breathing and shoved his toes into the wet sand, gently urging the rest of his body into it. He whimpered when a third wave washed over his legs and he pressed himself against the rock for stability. It wasn’t long before the tail appeared.

“Well, you’re halfway there, but now you have to slide in. It would’ve been easier if you came down further.”

“Shut up,” Dib hissed, his voice tight. “Shut up or I’m leaving.”

To his surprise, Zim did shut up, and even more surprisingly, Dib scooched his way into the water until it reached his chest. He was hyperventilating and clinging desperately to Zim, but he was in.

“Get off me.”

“Not happening,” Dib stayed stiffly. “Gonna scream and run for shore if I do.”

“You don’t have legs right now.”

“Stop reminding me.”

Zim growled under his breath but said no more, and Dib shuddered as clawed fingers dug themselves into his waist.

“You’re heavy. You need to move your tail or we’ll both sink.”

“Don’t know...how,” Dib panted.

Zim rolled his eyes. “Move your fin back and forth, like this.” He flapped his hand up and down in a stiff motion. Dib tried to copy the movement with the tail, but it was incredibly heavy. The muscles within the strange appendage were tingly and weak, trembling with even the slightest movement he tried to will upon himself. It didn’t help that his chest was heaving just to keep himself calm, so he became easily winded within a few moments of trying.

“Stop breathing so hard.”

“It’s not easy.”

“Well, it’s supposed to be. You’re trying too hard!”

“I haven’t ever done this before!”

“Stop being a pup, stink-beast!”

A wave forced them under and Dib shrieked, clawing his way back to shore and up onto the hot sands, sputtering and shaking. Zim emerged shortly after, hissing and bristling. He perched himself just barely out of the water. “Where do you think you're going?!”

“Home. Done for today.”

“But you barely—”

“I’m done for today!” Dib refused to spare him another glance as he grabbed the towel he had stored in his backpack and hastily dried himself off. When his legs reappeared, he sprinted away from the shoreline without so much as a goodbye.

* * *

Despite regretting the decision the second he stepped on the sand, Dib perched himself on the same rock again the following day. Along with the day after, and the day after that. Each day Zim greeted him by holding out his hand for him to toss him his marshmallows. Strangely, Dib didn’t mind, though, even as he had to reluctantly shimmy his way down into the freezing water desperately clinging to the siren's arms.

It was clear the siren didn’t like him, never missing a chance to nitpick and degrade him as he attempted to hold his head above water. Their infamous bickering consisted of Dib being too afraid to let his head dip below the surface or stop bruising Zim’s arms. Though, for every bruise that Dib gave him, Zim made sure to return the favor with claw marks along his waist.

Gradually, Dib got better at swinging the tail back and forth, discovering that if he moved from his hips and let the motion ripple down, he could easily train the muscles in the tail to build strength. As Dib’s swimming became less jerky and panic-based, Zim’s remarks occurred less often. That didn’t mean he complimented him, but Dib could’ve sworn he heard the occasional “good job” on his freaky tongue. Soon, Dib was more or less swishing the tail on his own and didn’t need to hold Zim’s hand…50% of the time.

“You seem to have gotten better.”

“More or less,” Dib huffed. “Still feel like I’m gonna have a heart attack, but you know...not dying yet.”

“It seems you aren’t.”

“That a compliment?”

“Feh, of course not,” Zim scoffed, turning his head away. “But Zim would make sure you didn’t die.”

“That’s comforting…” Dib mumbled, cheeks growing red in embarrassment. “Add that to the long list of debt for saving my life.”

“What list? Zim is not making a list of the times I saved you.”

“It’s metaphorical, dude.”

“M-Mety-fors? Met-ay-forys? What’re those?”

A breathy chuckle escaped Dib’s lips. “Uh, never mind. Can I take a break?”

Zim nodded his head and let go of Dib’s hand, who started scrambling to stay afloat. “Z-Zim, what’re you doing? Help me to shore.”

“Swim there yourself. You have the strength to do it. You’re doing well.”

“I’m doing well staying afloat. Not actually swimming! Zim!” he sputtered as he tried to paddle forward.

“Come on, human. You are capable.” Zim swam further away.

“I-I-I wait!” Dib sank below the surface and desperately flipped the tail to make him go up, but it only dragged him further down. Pins and needles shot through his veins, shocking his skin. He opened his mouth to call for Zim, but shut it again, afraid to take in water. He shut his eyes and plugged his ears, the water stinging his eyes and the screaming of his heart too loud.

Sharp claws poked his skin and soon he broke the surface again. He coughed as he was dragged up to shore, and he refused to look next to him.

“What was that?!” Zim screeched. “You were easily capable of swimming to shore!”

“I’m sorry…” Dib mumbled.

“You better be! The water can’t hurt you! You can breathe now, remember? Stop freezing up every time you go under!”

“I know...I-I’m sorry...I—”

“Can’t help it? Stop with that pathetic excuse! Get over it!”

“Well _you_ try facing something that has scared you shitless your entire life and tell me how you “got over it!”” Dib snapped, turning to face him so fast that his cowlick smacked Zim in the face. He didn’t wait for an answer as he dragged himself out of the water and began to dry off, hoping the tears gathering in his eyes wouldn’t impede on transforming back.

* * *

Dib didn’t know why he bothered going down to the beach again. Perhaps it was him wondering if Zim gave up on him after his pathetic outburst. Or if he was just too stubborn to just abandon the siren down by the shore. Or perhaps he just didn’t want the box of 50 bags of marshmallows to go to waste.

He was surprised Zim kept coming back. It must have been for the marshmallows.

They didn’t say anything to each other for days as Dib slid into the water and did his exercises. He noticed that the waves were particularly loud when you didn’t have anything to drown it out. It was the first time he heard them without scrambling to cover his ears.

When his most recent lesson ended, Dib dragged himself back out of the water, but Zim didn’t let go of his hand. When he opened his mouth to ask what was up, Zim extended his other hand to him, a small, pink spiral shell in his palm. He refused to meet his eyes.

“What? You a shell collector now?” Dib frowned. They hadn’t spoken in days and all Zim had to show for it was a shell? Dib was not the type of person that was quick to anger, but he resisted the urge to smack the thing out of Zim’s hand.

Zim took in a deep breath before turning to officially face him. “Zim is sorry.”

Dib expected a lot of things that Zim could say, but “sorry” was not one of them. The snarky retort he had prepared got stuck in his throat as he looked down at him. Zim’s eyes shimmered in the setting sun, the light catching them just the right way that he could see so many emotions in them. How peculiar that a pupil-less eye can say so much. “You...aren’t mad?”

Zim nodded solemnly, his antennae falling flat against his head. “Zim knows how...difficult it is to...stop being afraid of something…”

“You? Afraid of something?” Dib snorted.

Zim scowled. “I can still call you a baby,” he said, closing his palm.

“No no, I…” Dib kneaded sand between his fingers, “I’m sorry, too…I know I’m not easy to deal with and I didn’t mean to get you stuck with me because of this…” He looked away, leaning heavily on his forearms. “You don’t have to keep coming back if you don’t want to.”

“Zim wants to. How else will I get more marsh-mellys?” He smirked, and Dib could help the chuckle that grazed his lips, more genuine than his previous half-hearted laughs. “And...Zim thinks you are doing very well.”

Dib’s eyes widened. “You...do?”

He nodded and extended his hand again, the one with the shell in it, and placed it in Dib’s sandy palm. “Here. To show Zim means it.”

The shell was nothing special. It was little, pale pink, and swirled as it curved off the larger cavity, but Dib couldn’t stop the smile from growing on his lips. Small yet beautiful. “Thank you...I’ll be sure to put it somewhere safe.”

Dib climbed up to his backpack and dried himself off, tucking the shell in one of his pant pockets when they reappeared again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, fish boy.” He smiled, turning and giving Zim a wave.

Zim waved back. “I expect more marshies, stinky.”

* * *

“Do you trust me, human?”

Dib was out in the water again doing his exercises, but today was windy and made every wave slap him in the face. He was proud of himself for not screaming and attempting to “swim” to shore, but he was pale like a sheet and clinging to Zim for dear life. “Would be kinda rude of me to say no, at this point.”

Zim nodded his head and gripped his arms with a touch that could be described as gentle, for a creature with claws at least. “It might help to hold your breath for the transition.”

Dib nodded and took in some deep breaths to calm himself. His heart was pounding and he was positive he was trembling; he hoped Zim thought it was from the chilling waters. He shut his eyes as he took in a final breath and Zim took his head under. He struggled in Zim’s grip as the ocean filled his ear and drowned out the wind. The silence was more deafening when he could only hear his pulse. He held his breath for an undetermined amount of time before a claw tapped his shoulder. “You should breathe now.”

Even though his lungs agreed, Dib was still cautious when he let out the trapped air and took in a breath. His muscles tingled as the adrenaline rush wound down, leaving an odd numbing sensation in its wake. He finally opened his eyes and gasped. He could see _everything._

Colorful corals decorated the ocean floor populated with fish of all shapes and sizes. Their scales shimmered in the faint light that filtered through the water, their little mouths opening and closing as they swam. A little school of fish approached the pair and Dib shuddered, a nervous giggle escaping his lips as the fish swirled around them and nibbled his skin. “They tickle.”

Zim snorted a laugh. “They like to do that. You are...alright?”

Dib studied the way the water drifted about him, brushing against the fins of the tail and his hair. He was floating, flicking the tail lightly to keep from sinking and holding Zim’s arm much lighter than he thought he was on the surface. “Surprisingly...yeah.”

Zim nodded in approval and moved away from him slightly, much to Dib’s dislike. “I need you to be on your belly.”

Dib raised an eyebrow at the odd request, but slowly dipped forward, ignoring the way his stomach churned as he drifted up and down. “Like this?”

Zim nodded and placed one of his hands under him, along his stomach. The claws rested on his soft belly fat, slightly tickling, and he suppressed a shudder. He placed his other hand on Dib’s arms, bringing them in front of him. “You need to move your body in a wave motion, starting from your arms and letting the motion travel down your body.” As he spoke, Zim slid his hands from the tip of Dib’s fingers, over his shoulders, down the dip of his back. Dib thought he would stop, but his delicate claws continued to glide over the scales of the tail all the way down to the fin.

A different pins and needles feeling came with his touch. “Do you have to touch me like that?”

“It helps you visualize how to move.” Zim shrugged.

“R-Right.” Dib gulped, trying to shake the odd, warm feeling spreading in his gut, and tried to move his body in the way Zim suggested. He ended up jerking forward and drifting down, and he clung to Zim with a whimper when he nearly flipped upside down.

“Too stiff. Relax. Let the motion flow down your muscles.” Zim slid his fingers down Dib’s backside again, warning another shudder from Dib. 

“Do you mind if you...just show me?” he asked, ignoring the way his voice cracked.

“That would involve letting you go.”

“Just...put me on the rock?” Dib pointed to a large rock amongst the coral, and Zim rolled his eyes before guiding them to it.

“Now, watch closely, land-boy. You are about to witness the most stunning Irken siren!” Zim extended his arms in front of him and began a wave motion that travelled down his body. It was slow at first, but then he gradually sped up and was circling above where Dib sat. He watched the siren carefully, studying the way the motion propelled him forward without overworking himself. The sunlight glinted off his green and pink scales, and Dib was amazed that he could see that far and that clearly, as well as how...sparkly Zim was.

It was a faint sparkle. A shimmer. A glimmer. Dib didn’t really know the word, but it was the kind of sparkle that glistened along the ocean when the sun hit it just right, especially at twilight. Pinks and oranges and purples shining along the surface of the water so faintly but was there if you knew where to look. Zim was underwater twilight. The pink and green hues created a kaleidoscope of colors along the ocean floor and Dib’s skin, and they changed as he circled and twirled and dove around Dib. He was graceful with each flick of his translucent tail and his frilly antennae swishing as he swam.

He was—

“Now that’s how you swim.”

Dib yelped as Zim’s eyes stared him down, inches from his face when they weren’t before. “Oh? Y-Yeah. You looked…” Stunning. Mesmerizing. Beautiful. “Nice.”

“Nice?” Zim squinted an eye. “I perform a glorious swimming lesson and all you have to say is “nice?””

“Uh...yes?” Dib forced a smile that more than likely looked too awkward.

Zim rolled his eyes. “It seems your pathetic human eyes just cannot comprehend how _amazing_ it was. No matter. You will appreciate it soon enough. Come on, little worm, it’s your turn now.” He stated, extending a hand to Dib. He couldn’t ignore how it glistened under the light.

“Of course.” He gulped, taking his hand and letting Zim guide them up again. He snuck sideways looks the entire time Zim held him, and the only reason he bothered to look away was to derail his train of thought.

The siren gave him a sideways glance in return. “Is it normal for humans to turn red?”

* * *

Dib’s next few swimming lessons were spent underwater, and while he still hated the initial submerging, he didn’t mind it so much once he was under. Color him surprised to admit such a thing, even if only to himself. It still took some self convincing on his part to get in, but he enjoyed the odd feeling of quiet weightlessness he got, like he stepped into a different world.

That wasn’t too far from the truth.

Dib has also gotten the hang of the siren swim, as Zim egotistically called it. He expected the movement to feel completely foreign at first, his muscles protesting at the unusual and probably unnatural movement, but they grew to adjust. He would get tired easily because of all the muscles, new and old, he would use, but he felt satisfied that he could swim beside Zim and not have the urge to cling to him.

Well...not cling to him because he was afraid anyway…

Had he not noticed that Zim’s skin was slightly coarse before this point? He’d been touching it, or rather clinging to it, every day since they first started seeing each other, yet he failed to notice the texture initially. It wasn’t scaly like his tail, but it had grooves and ridges like a reptile if you were looking hard enough. And Dib couldn’t look away once he found them. Yet, despite the coarse texture, it was oddly smooth, at least depending on the way he slid his hand over Zim’s skin, and he wanted to...touch him more. Not in a creepy way, because that was just weird. No, he just wanted to hold his hand and admire the way the skin felt along his. Just his hand. There was nothing wrong with hand holding between friends.

Were they friends?

Dib had no better word for their odd, circumstantial relationship other than “friends.” However, he also had no clue what friends even did or were supposed to be like with each other. He had Gaz, but their relationship consisted of nothing more than even trades of benefits and venting. School kids avoided him, Dad was busy with his research, and his mom was dead. Dib could only guess that friends gave each other things in exchange for something else. Were they just acquaintances then? It’s not like Dib knew anything about Zim and vice versa, but he wanted to believe that there was something more to their relationship besides marshmallows and swimming.

“Found you!”

Dib blinked and peered through the thick seaweed swaying in the water to see two raspberry eyes staring at him. He huffed and pulled the seaweed back and shimmied his way out of his hiding spot beneath the rocks. Zim snickered as Dib fumbled, still not used to maneuvering his tail the way Zim could, but he managed. “I thought I had a good one that time.”

“It was a valiant effort, but there is no way a mere human fish-boy like yourself could ever beat the great Zim at camouflage.”

Did friends play hide-‘n-seek?

A chuckle escaped Dib’s lips as he rolled his eyes. “You have more practice than me. I bet you’d never find me after I got the hang of this thing,” he said, gesturing to his tail.

Zim chortled. “You forget: I grew up in the reefs of Mako and played this little game with my pod mates. I know every spot there is to hide along the shores of this island, and I have something else you’ll never have.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that, fish-boy?” Dib smirked.

“Heh. Watch closely.” Zim dove towards the sea floor, flicking that beautiful tail in Dib’s face, not that he minded. Zim swam over to a cluster of large rocks nearby where Dib was hiding and curled his tail in as he sprawled along the surface. Dib was about to make a comment that sunbathing was more beneficial above water, but he held his tongue as Zim’s skin began to darken. The green tone of his flesh shifted, turning black and blue as he closed his eyes, folded his fins, and dropped his antennae. Soon, Zim’s entire body was nothing but another ridge along the rocks.

Dib’s jaw dropped as he swam down to inspect him. “Whoa! You’re like an underwater chameleon!” he exclaimed, his eyes drifting over the textured skin that could have easily been mistaken for the rocks around it. “That’s incredible!”

Zim lifted his head, his pink eyes a harsh contrast against his new skin. “Chameleon? What is that?”

“It’s a creature whose skin changes color with its surroundings.”

“Many creatures do that underwater. Octopi are famous for that.”

“Well, those creatures can’t talk like you can so you’re automatically much cooler than them.” Dib gasped as the words slipped past his lips, his cheeks flaring red.

Zim smirked. “Well, Zim thanks you for noticing such a feat. The Irken race is amazing, after all.” Zim lifted himself from the rock, puffing his chest out as his normal colors returned to his skin.

Dib awkwardly smiled and attempted to lay down on his stomach next to him. “Why haven’t I seen any other Irkens around, actually? You talk about them so much that I’m surprised I haven’t seen any others around here,” he mused, before quickly scrambling to amend his statement. “N-Not that I think you’re boring, I’m just really curious because you’re pretty cool but I figured I’d see more of your kind at some point because you said you live around here and…” Dib’s face fell as he saw Zim look away, antennae drooping. “Hey…are you alri—”

“They moved on,” he murmured. “Zim is the only one that lives here now.”

Dib’s tongue tied knots inside his mouth and all he could manage was a pathetic “oh.”

The subtle push and pull of the currents is deadly silent despite the waves above being so loud. That was an odd thing Dib noticed as he spent more time underwater. The silence of the depths was more deafening, much colder and harsher than the constant hissing and swooshing of the surface. Dib couldn’t imagine being engulfed in that alone. He shook his head and found his gaze lingering along Zim’s still skin, the subtle dips and grooves that told a history he was completely unaware of. He hesitated before placing a shaky hand along his shoulder, and Zim’s surprised gasp startled them both.

“My mom’s gone, too,” he mumbled. “I...didn’t know her for long, but I was still sad when she died. It sucks when the people close to you are suddenly gone.”

Zim stared at him, wide eyed and silent, and Dib’s heart throbbed in his chest; but it was not from an anxiety he knew. This was different, fragile and new, and he wondered if he was crazy for wanting those eyes to keep staring at him, so his heart could keep throbbing in his chest. The two stayed on that rock for the rest of their time, listening to the silence of the depths.

* * *

“Slow down, fish-boy! You’re too fast!”

“Serves you right for cheating, human!”

The two bantered back and forth, laughing despite their rivalry in competition. Dib was eager to go under the surface today, challenging the siren to a race to Mako when his tail appeared before taking off without waiting for an answer. Zim had cursed him out, called him a pestering, annoying brat while he proceeded to pass him and “eat his tail” to use his words. Dib could only smile.

Soon, the coral reefs of Mako came into view; the finish line. Dib pushed himself to flip his tail faster, but he could already feel his muscles protesting from the harsh swimming he’d been doing. He refused to let Zim win, though; he’d best that little siren at something. He pulled one of his hands away from his form and twisted.

He wanted him to stop.

Zim yelped as a small whirlpool sucked him down, disrupting his flow, and sent him spiraling to the ocean floor. Dib laughed as he passed him, flipping forward and twisting around as he stopped. “I win! Take that!”

Zim attempted to swim up, but ended up tipping forward and groaning as he landed on the sandy floors again, kicking up some dirt and disrupting some small crabs. Dib laughed again but swam down and grabbed his wrist, hoisting him into his arms. “You alright? You’re looking a little _green.”_ He stuck his tongue out as Zim groaned again, lightly smacking him.

“I am green...which is better than...being pale,” he rasped, leaning his head against Dib’s shoulder. “When did...you learn that?”

“Been practicing a little at home,” Dib said as he guided them over to some rocks, placing Zim down before sitting next to him. “Can’t really do much with a bathtub, but you work with what you got, I guess.”

“And you...taught yourself that?” Zim panted, trying to focus his eyes.

Dib shrugged. “I guess. Didn’t think that I could do that, though. You alright? Seriously, I mean.”

Zim nodded, shaking his head slightly. “Nothing the great Zim can’t handle.”

“Of course,” Dib said, smirking. “How could I ever think I could take you out.”

“Exactly!” Zim exclaimed, thrusting a fist into the air. “You barely even set me back! Zim is a strong siren and...and...do you hear buzzing?”

Dib burst out laughing again, holding his stomach and trying not to slide off the rock. “Alright, fish-boy. You definitely need some rest. Think I better take you to a better place for you to recover.” He reached forward to scoop Zim up again but flinched when his claws dug into the flesh of his wrists.

“I know that buzzing…”

“Come on, dude,” Dib coaxed, prying his wrist from Zim’s grip. “I know you’re feeling dizzy, but it’s not good if your ears—antennae, or whatever, are…” the words faded from his mouth as a faint noise filled his ears, “buzzing?”

And it only grew louder.

Dib’s eyebrows furrowed as he listened, unsure what to make of the noise. Things are quiet under the surface, even the wildlife barely elicit the faintest sound if you weren’t listening. Not to mention nothing that Dib ever encountered down in the reefs made such a noise. “What could that…” He turned to Zim, whose eyes were now focused and wide with terror.

“It’s back again,” he quivered.

“Back? What’s back?” But Dib’s questions went unanswered as the buzzing grew to a roar and flew right above them. He craned his neck up right as a shadow larger than any fish he ever encountered loomed over them, blocking the sunlight as it streamed from above. Dib blinked his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness and his eyes widened as big as Zim’s when he saw two navy blue letters painted along the bottom of the object.

ML. Membrane Labs. 

The object was a boat, and not just any boat, but his _dad’s_ boat the _SS Tardigrade._

“Dib, swim!” Zim shrieked, scrambling off the rock, but he yelped and fumbled down to the sea floor, still not recovered from the dizzy spell.

Dib didn’t think twice and swooped down, scooping the little siren into his arms before flipping his tail to propel them away. He panted heavily, muscles still sore from their race and unused to Zim’s weight added on. He also didn’t account that swimming would be much harder without the side of his arms. Still, Dib pressed on, grunting as he forced his tail up and down.

The buzzing had ceased by this point and a mechanical whir rang out. Dib chanced a glance back and nearly whimpered as he saw a few shapes enter the water, too small to be human, but large enough to know what they were: propellor cameras. Dib whipped his head forward and yelped as he narrowly avoided a rock, putting off his rhythm. “I don’t know where to go.”

“The moon pool. Up ahead to your left,” Zim whimpered, clutching Dib and looking over his shoulder. Dib nodded and pushed himself to swim faster. He didn’t know where those cameras were now, but he didn’t want to stop to find out.

Soon enough, Dib approached the mouth of the cave and darted inside, holding Zim close to his chest. The siren in question mumbled things into the crook of Dib’s neck too fast and quiet for him to make out. He gently pried Zim away from him to calm him down, but he snapped his head up and whimpered, “It's gonna find us. It’s gonna find us and take us away. Gonna take Zim away. Gonna take you away. Like last time. Won’t go away. Won’t go away.”

He trembled in his arms, clutching at his bare skin and curling into a ball. Dib wrapped his own arms around his back and held him close, stroking his antennae. “They won’t find us. It’ll be ok. It’ll be ok.”

Zim’s sudden fear was disturbing to Dib. The Irken was no more than 5 feet long and he scared off Mako sharks more than twice his size. To see him crumble in his arms at the sight of his dad’s boat left him speechless, and that was before the cameras were launched. Did that mean Zim knew what those were?

He also didn’t understand why his dad was out here today. It wasn’t time for the biocollection and he never took the _Tardigrade_ out unless it was for that. His dad was never spontaneous about his research; it was always scheduled, organized, methodical. He never overbooked anything, even family time with him and Gaz, and if something cancelled, he gave notice to the appropriate parties. His dad _always_ told Gaz and him when he was going on a biocollection, but not today. Why was he out here now?

Beneath Zim’s frantic panting, the whirring sound continued, faint but growing louder. Dib gulped as he chanced a glance outside the cave. He gasped as he saw a camera propelling it’s way towards the entrance. He pulled himself back into the cave and looked frantically around for some way to cover themselves. However, the only way they could go was up and exit through the pool, and Dib didn’t have the strength to pull not just himself out but Zim as well; never mind that they didn’t have the time.

His clammy actions alerted Zim to his anxiety and he shook harder when Dib told him what awaited them outside. Before Dib could ask what they should do, Zim slammed him hard against the rocky walls of the cave and pinned him. He choked on a gasp as Zim dug his claws into him, wrapped his tail tightly around his, and curled his antennae in his hair. Zim hissed and grunted, his eyes glued shut in concentration as his skin began to darken to the shades of the cave. Dib wondered how that was supposed to help them both, but the words lodged in his throat as the color spread to his skin, turning it a deep black and blue. His skin grew colder as the color traveled over his body and he suppressed a shudder until every inch of him and Zim matched the cave.

“Don’t move,” Zim hissed, his voice strained. “It detects movement and heat. And shut your eyes or it’ll see you.”

Dib didn’t have time to answer or even question how Zim knew that when he saw the camera drift inside the cave. He shut his eyes tight, his body stiff as he feared even taking a small breath. Zim went rigid against his chest and Dib feared for a terrifying moment if he was even alive. He resisted opening his mouth or even twitching a finger. The sound of the camera was too loud in the cave as it drifted around, the whirring getting faint before it drew closer once again. Dib’s heart roared in his ears, pounding so hard he felt the camera would see the movement despite the camouflage. His lungs craved release, begging as the tightness in his chest swelled. He refused.

Eventually, the whirring grew fainter until it disappeared entirely, but the pair refused to move until the buzzing of the boat's motor faded into the distance.

Dib was the one to move first, twitching his stiff fingers to gently encourage both himself to move and Zim to let go. Zim sucked in a breath as Dib pried himself from the sharp edges of the cavern, breathing heavily and collapsing to the sand below. Zim refused to separate from his chest, his limbs beginning to shake again now that the danger was gone and their color turned normal.

“Zim?” Dib asked, gently. “Are you alright?”

“Stay away from that boat.”

Dib blinked, confused, and did his best to keep his voice even. “Um, ok? Why that particular boat? Lots of boats go out on the ocean.”

“That one is the only one that comes here.” Zim shook his head and met Dib’s eyes. “It comes here every week, and it has for years. Sending those dreadful _things_ into the water to get me. It’s looking for me. I know it is.” His lip quivered, and Dib saw for the first time in those pupil-less eyes pure, unbridled fear.

Dib gulped, hoping that his fingers weren’t trembling along Zims back. “What makes you think it’s looking for you?” he whispered.

Zim didn’t answer immediately, opting to curl himself against his chest again, leaving Dib hanging but afraid to press for answers. To release his own anxiety about what he could possibly say, Dib stroked up and down Zim’s back until he answered him back.

“You asked me a while ago to try facing something that scares me, and I told you I knew what it was like.” He took in a shaky breath. “That boat came to the reef and took members of my pod, and I never saw them again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna get to some good stuff next chapter. Hang on to your tails y'all, it's gonna be a ride!


	4. Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy long awaited update! So sorry for this taking so long, but this chapter is officially here!
> 
> Today 12/18 is actually my birthday, and because y’all have been loving this story, I decided to give y’all chapter 4 today (plus as a motivation for myself to finally publish it lol) It’s long, suspenseful, and full of many things so I hope y’all enjoy it despite such a long wait.
> 
> Seriously though, I’ve been so blown away by the love for this story. I can’t thank y’all enough for making my day with comments and asking if this story is going to update soon. I don’t plan on abandoning this story any time soon, I just need time to get it done lol.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!
> 
> There is a bit of gore near the end, but it's not too terrible. Please keep that in mind as you read!

Professor Membrane’s lab always smelled like an aquarium hospital: a mixture of seawater and fish alive, dead, and somewhere in between. It was unpleasant, to say the least, which is why Dib never liked being there. Besides the obvious trigger that sent pins and needles through his veins, the smell permeated his nostrils and left a horrible taste in the back of his throat that he couldn’t wash away with popcorn and M&M’s. Now though, with his recent condition, the smell left a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach; one he had a hard time ignoring as he travelled deeper into the lab. However, it wouldn’t surprise him if that dread was caused by something other than dead fish.

After the boat incident, Zim _refused_ to acknowledge that it even happened. He didn’t deny anything, per say, but he would always change the subject or redirect Dib’s attention elsewhere. Dib would try to redirect it back to the topic and get more information out of him, but it was no use. Zim was elusive when it came to confrontation, as well as horribly stubborn. It frustrated Dib to no end, and it wasn’t like he could just look up how to go about talking about the subject in a book or the Internet. According to those things, as well as his dad, Zim and his species didn’t even _exist._ So, after a bit, Dib gave up on confronting Zim about it and refocused his priorities on a different matter: why his dad was at Mako that day.

Regardless of what Zim said about his dad’s boat and what supposedly happened to his pod, Dib didn’t understand why his dad had gone out to Mako and so suddenly, too. His dad hadn’t told him that he was taking the _Tardigrade_ out—he _always_ told Dib when he was doing that—and he only took it on his expedition to Mako. Not to mention that his dad always scheduled those visits due to the crew that came with him. Seeing his dad do something so rash and unpredictable didn’t sit well in Dib’s stomach.

Nothing was adding up. 

Dib found his dad in his office, surprisingly. His work was mostly down with the tanks observing the wildlife or discovering new bioluminescent plankton. Whenever he was in his office, it meant he was doing business work, but Dib supposed that meant it would be easier to talk to him.

“Oh, son. What a surprise to have you down here,” Membrane said looking up from his papers. The collar of his lab coat hid his mouth, but Dib knew he was smiling from the way the skin wrinkled around his goggles. “What brings you down here today? Are you alright? You didn’t get ill feelings going through the lab looking for me, did you?”

Dib offered a tiny smile in return and shook his head. “No, I’m alright, dad. Thanks.” His stomach was doing little flips in his gut, but he did his best to ignore it and cleared his throat. “Um, you busy now?”

“Oh, just some financial work for parts for a new device I’m making. Tiny mishap with the budget, but it’s not pressing. I was about to wrap up with it so I can prepare for the delivery tomorrow. What’s on your mind?” he asked, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk, which Dib timidly sat in.

“Sounds fun. A...device for your studies on Mako?” Dib asked tentatively.

If Membrane heard the anxious tone, he paid no mind to it. “Yes. We’re observing the Mako sharks and we’re developing a device that can safely subdue them while we tag them to monitor their patterns.”

“Oh, cool. Is...that why you were out there a few days ago?”

Membrane’s face slackened, his hidden smile fading. “A few days ago? Out by Mako? What are you talking about, son?”

Dib gulped, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as his dad’s goggles gazed hard at him. “I...came by to talk to you a few days ago, and I noticed the _Tardigrade_ was gone,” he started, slowly, doing his best to keep his voice level and his eye contact consistent. “You don’t take the _Tardigrade_ for anything else, and you normally tell Gaz and I when you’re going out to Mako, so...I was just wondering is all.”

For a pregnant beat, nothing was said between them, and goosebumps crawled on Dib’s skin as he tried to ignore how oppressing the silence was, as well as how he felt the room was growing smaller. He did his best to focus on his dad, trying to look calm as he waited for an answer, but it was hard to maintain his facade when he couldn’t even read the blank expression.

Professor Membrane abruptly cleared his throat and sat back in his chair, breaking the awkward spell of silence between them. “Ah yes, that little trip. We have sensors down in the reefs and we noticed there was an increase in activity with what appears to be some larger fish, so we wanted to check to see what it was.”

Dib gulped. “Larger fish? What, like sharks or dolphins?”

“Possibly. Whatever it was, it was gone by the time we got over there. We sent cameras down under and everything,” Membrane responded, tapping a finger along the collar of his lab coat. “We think a few sharks had a fight, but with the lack of blood, that theory doesn’t hold up. But anyway, I don’t want to make you feel ill talking about the ocean. Why your interest, son?”

“No reason!” Dib said with a tight-lipped smile. He laughed nervously. “Sorry for bringing it up.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I’m sorry that you were worried about my whereabouts.” He stood up and stretched, pulling a few papers into a folder and sticking it into a drawer before locking it. He then gathered up his things and Dib followed his example before the two went to leave together. “We should be going. I’ll treat you and your sister for pizza tonight, sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Dib feigned a smile.

The two walked through the lab in silence, the sound of Membrane saying good evening to his coworkers a distant noise in his ears. His thoughts were too loud to focus on the outside world, too focused on two different but very important things: the first being a question he’d asked all his life but never bothered to understand, and the second being that his dad had _lied._

He only managed to come into focus when he hopped in the front seat of his dad’s car before a question was tumbling from his lips without his consent. “Why are you studying the reefs by Mako Island?”

Once again the silence returned, but unlike when Dib had asked this question before, every second his dad spent not answering only encouraged the dread to grow and gurgle in his stomach.

“It’s full of mysteries that will change the world, son.”

Dib nodded, not bothering to chase a “Why” to his response; the same response to the same question with the same reaction. His dad didn’t ask him why, either, and the rest of the car trip was spent in silence as Dib tried desperately to ignore that his dad still smelled like dead fish.

* * *

Dib spent the next few days trying to sneak into his father’s labs to access his notes on his Mako expeditions. He did his best to avoid speaking with his dad directly, as any further contact with him about the subject of Mako would only make the pooling dread and guilt in his stomach grow. Not to mention that it meant he’d be questioned about his whereabouts. Luckily, he managed to avoid his dad, but that didn’t mean he avoided his coworkers. For once, being a thalassaphobe didn’t help him, instead earning himself an escort to the front gates on several occasions. Dib also noticed that the smiles on the coworkers faces began to fade after the third attempt to get in. Needless to say, he was failing at information retrieval miserably.

His efforts with Zim were not getting him anywhere, either. The siren still deflected, still ignored, still redirected the questions Dib asked. It was like he was talking to a wall; a brick wall that threw back anything it came in contact with. Stubborn, just like Zim. Although, while such attempts were frustrating and made Dib want to yank Zim’s antennae out of his head, the deflections and redirections didn’t come without some benefit.

Dib didn’t miss the way their shoulders brushed when they swam side by side, or the way Zim would randomly stop him in the water and run his webbed fingers over his scales. “You were swimming stupid,” he would say, “you must move your muscles like so,” and then would proceed to touch him more. Dib couldn’t deny that he was more intrigued than angry for those “lessons,” because the more Zim did it, the more Dib realized how sensitive his scales were when Zim touched him, goosebumps following in the wake of his fingers.

And while it couldn’t be proved, there may have been a few times where Dib would swim badly on purpose.

More often Dib found himself daydreaming about the siren and his excitement grew tenfold every time he approached the beach to spend the rest of the afternoon in the water—Dib couldn’t believe that he grew to enjoy swimming so much that he looked forward to the act. He approached the beach where he saw the siren waiting expectantly like each day and Dib eagerly waded into the surf after dropping his backpack off near the rocks.

“Hey,” he started when he slipped under, “been meaning to ask: why don’t you ever sing? Sirens are known for their singing voice to lure sailors to their death, so how come I’ve never heard you sing?”

“I can sing just fine,” Zim scoffed, folding his arms and flicking his tail fin definitely as they leisurely swam. “But your legend is wrong. Sirens can’t sing above water, our vocal cords don’t work on human ears that way; we don’t sound pleasant to them for some reason.”

“That’s weird,” Dib said, cocking an eyebrow. Though he supposed that made sense considering Dib couldn’t understand him when they first met. “How did that legend change then? It’s gotta be based on some truth.”

Zim shrugged. “How should I know? You humans come up with the weirdest things for creatures you don’t understand. Sirens don’t like to be bothered, we just scream at you until you go away. Or until your ears bleed, whichever comes first. If you venture too close, though, then we drag you underwater and drown you.”

Dib shuddered as he remembered his first encounter with Zim. Even with the knowledge that he was going to save him from being trapped in that cave, it was terrifying to think that he would’ve been so easily drowned if Zim just didn’t feel like helping him. “So then...where did the singing come from?”

“Sirens sing to the fish of the sea to get meals. We’re carnivorous so we have to eat other fish, but we’re also prey creatures to some of the larger creatures like squid and sharks should they get their teeth on us. It’s why we can camouflage. We just like to eat the small creatures, but if we can get something more...vulnerable, we won’t complain~” Zim eyed Dib mischievously.

“Hey! I’m not a free meal for you to enjoy! Besides, I think you would’ve hated how bony I was when we first met. Every muscle I have now came about because you taught me how to swim.”

Zim shoved him, smirking. “You lie through your teeth, fish freak. I would’ve found a use for your greasy body.”

“I happen to be a very clean human, thank you very much.”

“About as clean as your toxic waste facilities.”

“And how would you know that, Bottom feeder? You spying on me?~”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, twolegs.~”

“I’d like to know!”

Zim and Dib stopped staring at each other. Neither of them said that last part. They turned to look in front of them and were surprised when they found a silver fish with a really long face, about big enough to fit in Dib’s palms. The thing had a really long face like a horse and bright eyes that had an odd...teal color to them? That didn’t seem exactly natural. The two had do idea what to make of the little fish, so Dib is the one who broke the silence first.

“Uh, hi there? Did you...say something?”

Zim slapped his arm. “Fish don’t talk, stupid. They don’t have the brain capacity to.”

“Awww, I don’t have the brainys to do the talkies? That makes me sad.” The little fish made a sad face before rapidly swimming in circles around Zim’s head. “You wanna see the colors I found?! I found pretty colors on the floor! Come look!” It went and bit Zim’s antennae and tried to drag him down.

“Ow ow ow! What in the name of—Get off!” Zim swatted the fish away and it did flips.

“WEEEEEEEE! I’M SPINNING!”

Dib rested a hand on Zim’s shoulder, steadying the siren. “You alright? How...how can it talk?”

Zim shook his head and massaged his antennae. “I’m unsure. Fish aren’t supposed to talk. They really _don’t_ have the brain capacity to process speech. Although…” Zim eyed the fish, who was singing a weird, one-word song as he drifted upside down in the current, “this fish doesn’t seem to be processing anything... _complicated._ ”

Dib hummed and nodded. After a moment, he drifted up to the fish and gently righted him before meeting his eyes. “Hey there...Um, my name is Dib. Do you have a name?”

The fish looked at him with a blank expression before swimming around his head. “GRRRRRRRRR!”

“Wh-What?” Dib asked, his eyes spinning in his head as he grew dazed.

“That’s the sound the creature makes when he’s angry. Grrrrrrr!” If a fish could smile, then Dib was sure this one was grinning.

“Um...that’s n-not what I—”

“Gir?” Zim asked.

“Yeeeees?” the fish asked, swimming quickly up to Zim’s face.

Zim stared at the fish with a deadpan look before swimming over to join Dib. “I think that’s what it’s name is, in it’s weird...abstract...mind.”

“Gir,” Dib said, rolling the name over on his tongue.

“Yes?” the fish asked.

“Gir,” Zim said, seemingly doing the same.

“Yes?” the fish asked. It didn’t seem too bothered that neither were elaborating.

“Yes.” Zim smiled. “Yes, I like that name.”

* * *

Dib returned to his room on cloud nine, which admittedly was how he felt most days after he got back from seeing Zim. Even if their time together now had to be shared with a weird—slightly annoying—fish, Dib still greatly enjoyed the time they spent together. He would hug his pillow and just repeat their conversations and interactions over and over again in his head, especially if they were parts where Zim would touch him. He’d often smile like an idiot and squeeze the pillow, giggling into the plush to avoid being too loud and get his thoughts interrupted. He didn’t understand the way his heart would flutter in his chest at the thought of the siren, or the way he would start smiling for no reason. It was something that left him with a warm glow in his chest and sappy words on his tongue, which he was glad he was too afraid to say because he didn’t want anyone to ruin his feelings about the siren.

“Hey.”

Dib’s head snapped up from the pillow to find Gaz standing in his doorway. That wasn’t such a rare sight as Gaz sometimes dropped by his room to chat from time to time. He could easily tell how serious a conversation would be depending on whether or not she would have her game slave present; if she had it, it wouldn’t be a long conversation. She didn’t have it today.

Dib sat up and put the pillow in his lap. “Hey, Gaz. What’s up?”

Gaz wasn’t looking at him, her hair covering her face and making it hard for Dib to read her expression, but she didn’t look happy—although that wasn’t out of the ordinary for Gaz. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she tapped her finger expectantly against a plastic water bottle. “You’ve been hanging around dad’s lab more often.”

It may not have been much of a comment, but it said so much. It was hard to hide things from Gaz, and she knew that he absolutely despised that place. He would rather be anywhere else than be caught dead there.

He looked away and shrugged. “I had to ask him something the other day and I figured the best would be to see him at work. It was the night we got pizza.”

Gaz didn’t look at him. “You went back to the lab everyday after that.”

Dib swallowed thickly. “Oh, did I?” He chuckled anxiously. “I don’t really have a reason to go back—”

“You suck at lying.”

Dib looked up and found her glaring at him, her amber eyes threatening to burn a hole through his skull. “A-Am I?”

Gaz walked into the room then, her arms still folded. “And you’ve been acting weird since the day you got back from Mako. More so than usual. Hiding in your room a lot. Hogging the bathroom. Sneaking off during school.” She stopped in front of his bed. “Are you doing drugs?”

“What?! No! God! Gaz! Why would you ask me that?”

“Are you chasing after bigfeets again?”

“No! And jeez, how many times do I have to explain that its—”

“You got a boyfriend?”

“What?!” Dib’s face turned beat red. “No! No no no no! And wait, why ask that instead of me having a girlfriend?!”

“You’re way too gay to ever date a girl, just like I’m too badass to every date a guy.”

“How the hell is that—Did you just—Gaz! Stop it! What do you want?!”

“The truth,” she answered immediately. “What are you up to? You’re acting even weirder around water, lately, you’re _obsessed_ with getting into dad’s lab, and don’t think I missed that incident in the skool bathroom a few weeks ago!” She pointed a finger at him, the water bottle in her other hand being squeezed a little too hard.

Dib scooted back on the bed a little. “The pipes burst. What do you expect me to say? The skool can’t even afford to replace desks after they break and hot lunches for the students, do you really think they’re gonna keep up with maintenance on water pipes?”

“Cut the _bullshit,_ Dib! You know exactly what I’m talking about and you ignoring it is pissing me off!” She squeezed the water bottle so tightly that the cap flew off. Water sprayed all over the bed and splashed over Dib’s skin. He shrieked and tried to wipe off the excess water off his skin, but it was all over his bed. He scrambled away and tried to run around Gaz, but she blocked the door.

“Gaz, move! Please!”

“No, Dib! Tell me what’s going on!”

“You don’t understand! Let me out!”

“Understand what? Tell me what’s going on!”

Dib gripped his hair and shut his eyes, his chest heaving as he thought desperately, but no matter what he tried, Gaz wouldn’t let him through. He didn’t know what to do! So he pushed her away and hid on the other side of his bed as the tingles washed over his body.

“Dib!” Gaz screamed. Dib could hear her scrambling to her feet and stomping over to where he now laid. He stared up at her as she rounded the bed, a horrified look on his face as he watched her eyes widen. His tail was on full display, and he had no excuse now to hide what transpired right in front of her.

It was silent in the room for a moment too long and Dib was afraid to break the silence first, but Gaz didn’t seem to fazed by it because she reached down and gave his tailfin a hard yank.

“Ow! Gaz!”

“Just wanted to see how you would react.” She shrugged, leaning back on her heels. “You shriek like a bitch.”

“Hey!” He wanted to be mad at her, but he honestly couldn’t come up with any other emotion besides anxiety and embarrassment. He swallowed thickly and sat up, pulling his tail into his chest and refusing to meet her eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone! I don’t know how to explain how this happened or why it did, but I just...it was easier if I didn’t say anything! I didn’t mean to worry you or make you think I was pushing you away or hurt you, but I just couldn’t—”

A hand clapped over his mouth. “You’re annoying when you whine,” Gaz said. He looked up to meet her gaze, expecting anger or disgust to be present, but instead she looked...impassive. “You seriously overthink things. But,” she looked down at his tail again, her eyes distant with thoughts he could only imagine were running through her head, “wow, that is...different.”

He told her everything, then. The day at the docks, the night at Mako, the morning after, how he met Zim, his swimming lessons, their dad’s odd whereabouts by Mako, and his lies about it. He couldn’t keep anything from her after that. While he was grateful for Zim helping him work through his new merman side, he unfortunately didn’t quite understand things that bothered Dib in the human world, and he couldn’t just tell anyone in the human world about the problems because they required lots of context—not to mention that he couldn’t tell just anyone he was part fish.

Gaz was his saving grace. While they were not very close, they did rely on each other for things that bothered them, and the other did their best to help. Dib had been afraid that Gaz would do something if she ever found out, but the way she listened to everything he had to say without writing him off or running to tell dad put those anxieties at ease.

“So...you think dad is hiding some big secret at his lab because he doesn’t tell us why he’s going to Mako and because Zim’s pod members didn’t return after capture?” Gaz summed up, a finger on her chin as she thought deeply. “And you can’t get into the lab because dad’s workers keep catching you in restricted areas?”

Dib nodded sheepishly and hugged his knees—he had dried off previously to show her how the transformation worked. “I can’t explain what it is, but I really feel like there’s something he isn’t telling us, and the answer is somewhere in his lab. I gotta know, Gaz. He’s lying for a reason, and dad _never_ lies.”

“Going off Zim’s word isn’t a good reason to break into his lab and research.”

“I know! But something is off! There are too many things that aren’t adding up and I just need to figure out why! I’m missing something and I have to know what it is!”

“And what if you don’t find anything?”

“Then at least it’ll just prove that I’m overthinking things…” Dib sighed and managed to meet her eyes. “Look, it’s not that I _want_ to prove dad is hiding something. I _hope_ to find nothing. I don’t want dad to be hiding something bad from us, but...I just…”

Gaz sighed and shook her head. “You’re really adamant about this, aren’t you? If I help you, will you at least shut up about it?”

Dib’s eyes widened. “Help me? Wh—Why do you wanna—?”

“Because it’s really bothering you and _I_ can get you into the lab. But you better find what you’re looking for on the first try or you’re finished. Dad is gonna catch on eventually and it won’t be good when he does. If I help you with this, will you let it go? And, don’t worry, I won’t tell dad about...what happened to you as long as it doesn’t continue to become a problem. Got it?”

Dib was shocked by the offer, it wasn’t often that Gaz lent a hand in helping him with something. He got so overwhelmed with emotion that he ended up pulling her into a tight hug. “Yes! Yes, thank you, Gaz! Thank you so much!”

“Ugh, you’re so sappy.” She wrapped one arm around him. “You’re buying me video games for the next 6 months.”

* * *

Professor Membrane’s office was dark as Dib sifted through his file drawers. Gaz had kept her promise and helped him get into the lab, but he only had a limited time in his dad’s office before he came back to finish up work. Dib did his best to move quickly even if he didn’t exactly know what he was looking for, but he still had an idea. He just needed to find some information regarding Zim’s species, or lack thereof, in his dad’s files. Very simple.

Except that his dad had over 30 years of files to sort through.

But Dib wasn’t discouraged, yet. Zim had mentioned that his pod was native to Mako, and his dad first started exploring this area shortly after he was born, which meant his father’s first 15 years of research—his years exploring the world’s oceans—didn’t need to be sorted through. And his dad had decided to officially settle at Mako after Gaz was born, which meant his last 13 years of research—studies about Mako only—could be left for a later time. That left only 2 years of research to search through.

 _Something_ made his dad choose to stay by this area specifically, and considering he spent years on the ocean before settling, it had to be something _huge._

Bearing all that in mind, Dib was confident that he would find something. But 3 hours of sorting through boring research papers and not finding anything was enough to wear even the strongest of wills down, which included Dib’s.

He groaned in frustration and set his most recently sorted file aside, lying down on his back and rubbing his eyes. “There had to have been _something_ that made you settle here,” he mumbled.

Dib eventually sat back up again and picked up the file, placing it back in the filing cabinet. He went searching for the next file but found they suddenly jumped a few months. Dib cocked an eyebrow and looked through the file tabs again, wondering if he accidentally organized them wrong, but he hadn’t. 6 months worth of files were missing from the filing cabinet, and not just any 6 months, they were the 6 months leading up to the day his dad decided to settle.

“That’s interesting…” Dib didn’t know if he should feel elated or scared, but it sent goosebumps crawling up his skin in ways he didn’t expect.

Abandoning the filing cabinet, Dib began to search around the room for the lost files. If his dad felt the need to remove these files, then they were of particular importance in some fashion. He opened other drawers, cabinets and even looked behind the big bookshelf, pulling books out in case they triggered a secret entrance—he was a bit of a dork for that kind of thing—but nothing came to light. As he sat down at his father’s desk, he began to wonder if the files would be elsewhere, but then he recalled the locked drawer his dad had stuck a few files in a few days prior.

“Now why would you need to lock a drawer?” he mused, finding the drawer in question. It was locked, like expected.

Dib grabbed a paperclip and managed to open the lock to see the contents of the drawer. There were many files in it, surprisingly, the ones closer to the bottom collecting dust compared to the ones on top. He couldn’t see the dates on these since they were stacked on top of each other, so he had to go through them all. There were future blueprints and updates for the _Tardigrade,_ schematics for a motion sensor net, and even photographs and studies that were done with Dib’s mother. Dib couldn’t help staring at those files for a bit, nearly getting lost in the reports of what his parents used to do before having him and Gaz. He kept himself on track, though.

Soon, Dib reached the bottom of the drawer and only found one file left, but the contents were just CDs. Dib’s heart sank as he pulled out the file, looking through the discs labeled 1-4. He was running out of time and he still didn’t even know if this was what he was looking for. As fate would have it, Gaz texted Dib saying he needed to get out now because dad was back. He carefully organized the files in the drawer, shutting it and making his way out of the door with the discs in his bag.

* * *

“Did you find anything?” Gaz asked once they were back in Dib’s room.

“Um...k-kinda?” He reluctantly showed her the discs and Gaz rubbed her eyes, giving a soft, frustrated growl.

“Thought I told you to leave it be if you didn’t find anything? What if this is important research dad needs? If he finds out it’s gone, we’re in deep shit.”

“I know. I know, Gaz!” Dib chided, going to his computer and popping in the first disc. “I know these may not be anything, but I just—”

“Had to know, I _get_ it,” Gaz growled as she leaned on the back of his chair. “Let’s just watch these stupid things and get it over with.”

When the disc was done loading, their dad appeared on the screen, his face much younger and his mouth not hidden behind his collar. He donned a smile and spoke ecstatically into the camera, the way Dib did when he used to hunt paranormal creatures out in the woods. It was...odd to see their dad so excited about something so big; Gaz and Dib had never even seen him smile before.

“I’ve made a fantastic discovery!” Their Dad started, his voice exasperated. “It’s an incredible creature, one the likes that I’ve never seen before in all my years exploring the Earth’s oceans! It’s deformed and hideous and breathtaking and dangerous all at once!” He grabbed the camera and moved out of the way to reveal his specimen.

Dib’s breath caught and his stomach lurched into his throat. “Zim!” He exclaimed, reaching forward to grab at the green and pink creature that laid thrashing on a metal table. He wanted to crawl through that screen and scoop him into his arms to hold him close before running away to get him back in the ocean, but he couldn’t reach him.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him back. “That’s not Zim,” Gaz hissed. “Look. Look closer.”

Dib tried to shove her off and tell her that she didn’t even know what he looked like, but then he did look closer. This siren wasn’t Zim. This one was bigger, more heavy set than Zim, but still looked masculine. But while that eased Dib’s mind a little, the ecstatic smile on his father’s face did not.

“Isn’t it incredible?! A humanoid ocean dweller! Simply magnificent! Why, I haven’t seen anything this incredible since we found traces of the Megalodon in the Marianas Trench!”

The siren on the table snapped at the scientists who tried to get it settled, and it ended up screaming. Really _screaming._ The scientists in the lab reeled back and screamed themselves, covering their ears and crying out in pain as they scrambled out of the room, their dad among them. A few of them collapsed, seemingly unmoving as blood slowly trickled from their ears. Even Dib and Gaz covered their ears, the sound piercing even through his muffled computer speakers.

Now in the safety of another room but still able to observe the siren, their dad continued. “How curious...it appears to possess a sonic wave so powerful that it can destroy a humans eardrums. Call a medic and have those men looked at while I develop some noise cancelling ear plugs.”

Disc 1 ended.

Dib sat there frozen.

“Dib?” Gaz asked, gently shaking his shoulder that she was still gripping. “Are you ok—”

“Fine,” he answered quickly, popping the first disc out and the second disc in. “‘m just fine.”

“I have completed the headphones to tune out the noise the creature makes,” their dad greeted when he showed up on screen. “Works wonders on these things despite their screaming able to rival that of a bat. I’ll have to test the limits of that capability when I get the chance. It makes me wonder how it affects their environment and other creatures. But at a later time, for now, testing!”

He entered the room and spent the first few minutes trying to communicate with it. It reminded Dib much of his own encounter with Zim, with this siren understanding their dad perfectly but unable to truly communicate using English. However, this conversation felt more stilted and uncomfortable, the man treating the creature like an object rather than an intelligent being. There wasn’t anything said or asked that Dib didn’t already have answers about sirens, and soon that disc ended, too.

“Today’s an exciting day,” Professor Membrane began when disc three was inserted, “a day that will forever go down in science history! The day we officially explore the ins and outs of a new and strange creature. We have no official name for it yet, but many of my colleagues seem to like the name “Irken,” for this particular creature, as it likes to annoy us, as the name implies.

“But semantics are for a later time, now we must focus on the fun part.” Professor Membrane placed the camera up high so it could have a clear view of the siren, or Irken, and the researchers that gathered around it. It was awake and heavily strapped down, it’s mouth muzzled shut and dotted lines down its chest. “The part where we see how this creature _truly_ works!”

Even if one didn’t understand what was about to happen, the sight of a silver blade slicing through green skin was enough to tell the rest of the story.

The screams. The _horrible_ screams that echoed throughout the room made Dib grip his chair so hard his knuckle turned white; even filtered through computer speakers was not enough to dampen the agony The scientists paid no mind to it as the professor, his _father,_ worked his way through layers of skin with a blade not much longer than a pencil, but much deadlier than a siren's serrated fangs. Pink blood pooled on the table and dripped onto the floor, each drop like a cut to Dib’s own chest. The Irkens organs were prodded and pulled, sliced and removed, earning more screams from the creature until it threw its voice out and eventually collapsed, going still.

Dib was quick to follow.

He hit the ground, covered his ears, and curled in on himself, his knees tucked under his chin as his chest heaved, hyperventilating. The sound of his blood pounding through his head made him feel like he was about to explode. He closed his eyes but even without his sight, all he could see was the siren strapped to the table being mercilessly cut open, organs and blood spilling from the wounds like a morbid waterfall and ceasing to stop. And no matter how many times he convinced himself, he couldn’t get the image of Zim on that table out of his head.

Zim strapped down. Zim muzzled and gagged. Zim terrified that the man holding his life in the palm of his hands was a mirror image of his best friend.

The deafening silence made Dib’s ears bleed more than Zim’s screaming ever could.

“Dib!”

Dib’s eyes snapped open and Gaz was there, shaking him gently and trying to make him go through the motions for getting out of an anxiety attack.

“The disc ended…”

“Oh...sorry…”

“I don’t think...we should watch disc four.”

“No...I don’t want to…”

He didn’t say anything for a while, afraid to really talk about what was truly on his brain for fear of it being real. He didn’t want it to be real. His father couldn’t...have done such a thing…

“I think...you found what you were looking for...but what are you going to do now?”

“Huh?”

Gaz sighed and pulled him out from under his desk. His computer was off. “I mean, what are you going to do with this information? You gonna...confront dad?”

Dib’s chest seized up again and he nearly went through another anxiety attack, but Gaz kept him out of it, grounding him and making him focus on her. Though, she didn’t try starting the conversation again until about 10 minutes passed.

“Dib,” she started gently, “I know this is a lot to take in...I don’t think either of us wanted to see that, but we did and now something is going to happen as a result whether you like it or not. So what’s it going to be? If you’re not gonna tell dad...are you going to tell Zim?”

“Zim?” Dib looked up at her and reality came crashing down on him once again, but in a different fashion. This was slow and silent, suffocating and cold. Drowning.

“Oh, god...what am I going to tell Zim?!”

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on social media!
> 
> [ My NSFW Twitter](https://twitter.com/EnbyDibBitch) Pretty please don't follow if you're under 18. I will look you up and block if I must.
> 
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> 
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